Antique Maritime Sailors Folk Art Carved Bone Needle Case Pendant Sewing Tool

  
Offering for sale is this Antique Maritime Sailors Folk Art Carved Bone Needle Case Pendant Sewing Tool. It measures approximately five inches long. Circa 1800s to early 1900's. It has a cap for one compartment that unscrews and features a hole for hanging it from a piece of string. It has another cap on the other end. It contains a bone awl and a steel needle with a rounded tip and match striker on the side.

Whoever made it took the time to make it special with extra details carved into the needle case and evidently used it judging by the patina and usage wear. We have never seen one with the age and features of this one.

A needle to a sailor was an essential tool for quickly repairing tears in sails before they got bigger and would often wear them around their necks with necklaces of thread. Please see our other auctions and in the future for more antique items and other unique vintage and antique objects. They were made from cattle (bovines) bones. Back in the day, every major town that had a slaughter house had businessmen and hobbyist and sailors who made use out of all of the cattle bones the slaughter houses discarded. They carved them into many common objects such as beads, combs, sewing needles, button hooks, crochet hooks, buttons, knife scales, dice and things like this sewing tool. Bone is still being used today for all sorts of things. It is made from cattle (bovines) bones. We pack all of our items very well to ensure safe arrival. All of the items we offer have been acquired from private owners or estates.

Since all of our items were previously owned, there may be some minor scratches, nicks, dents or pits consistent with the age of the article. We do our best to describe and photograph condition. We take plenty of photos; please view them all closely and ask questions as soon as possible.

If available, enlarge, or zoom photographs for detail.