The Narwhal Tusk by Lex

We were joined recently by Lex, a secondary school student from Borden Grammar school who completed his work experience with us here at The Beaney. Lex spent the week supporting various work at the museums including researching one of the most talked about items from The Study.

Here’s what Lex found out about the Narwhal Tusk:

Watercolour illustrations of a female narwhal (top) and male narwhal with tusk (below)

Narwhal Tusk

Where to find it: The Cabinet of Curiousities (right hand side), The Study

Material: Ivory

Discovered in: 1848

The Discovery

The tusk was discovered when the Admiralty launched a search for the lost expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin. This tusk was presumably found on the search by Dr. J. R. Holman and presented by Rev. W. H. Holman.

The tusk itself is 6 feet 6 inches or 2 meters in length which is a little less than the average tusk at 8 to 9 feet long or 2.5 to 2.7 meters long. From this we could assume that the Narwhal it came from was not fully developed but that is only speculation. When the tusk had arrived there were two tags attached to it via wire which said “This Tusk was brought from the Arctic regions by Dr. J. R. Holman R.N of H.M.S. Phoenix, one of the vessels sent out to search for Sir John Franklin in 1853/4. Presented by, Rev. W. H. Holman, Bournemouth.” and the other said “Tusk of the Narwhal. Monodon monoceros. This cetacean belongs to the dolphin family. The tusk is always on the left side, its fellow on the opposite side being only a few inches long and concealed entirely within the jaw. The ivory has a high commercial value and the oil obtained from the blubber is more valuable than that of the Greenland whale.” In addition to the tags there are two letters that refer to the Tusk being a loan.

Narwhals

Narwhals live in the arctic seas around the Atlantic and Russian areas. Their name is derived from the old norse nárhval meaning ‘corpse-whale’. This is possibly because of their mottled grey skin and their habit of floating motionlessly at the water’s surface which happens in summer and is referred to as Logging. Their scientific name Monodon monoceros means ‘single-tooth single-horn’ in Ancient Greek. Narwhals tend to travel in groups from 10-20 but have been spotted travelling in huge groups from 100s to even 1000s in the summer to migrate.

Why did I pick the tusk?

I wanted to shine some light on this strange and magnificent tooth. Another reason I selected it is because it has a fantastic corkscrew pattern and is taller than most people despite it being on the smaller scale of narwhal tusks. On top of the looks I wanted to say that it drew me in because the story behind it is surprisingly bizarre since it was found on the search for the lost expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin. Finally I’d like to remind you all that it is not a horn but a giant canine tooth that protrudes from the Narwhal.