Exhibit Label

Many round plates such as this one were made in the mid-nineteenth century, very often with this kind of geometric and floral decoration. Some of the inspiration for these plates probably came from English tableware of the time, and certain of the motifs may derive from scrimshaw designs developed by American whalers, especially the wheel-like rosette, which has been likened to the jagging wheels made by the scrimshanders. The plates, like almost all argillite carvings, were purely decorative and were not intended for use. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)