MO 63.1943
Model of an American Steam/Sail Whaler
Chukchi craftsmen
Northeastern Siberia, Russia
Walrus ivory, whale baleen, whale sinew, wood
19" x 28" x 7 1/2"
Model of a three masted American Whaling ship with 3 jibs at stern. Sails, deck and hull are carved from whale baleen. Six lifeboats hang from davits. The hull has a black wooden deck with a smoke stack. The rigging for the masts is made of sinew.
This model was carved from memory by a self-taught Chukchi craftsman. Such sail-steam vessels were in use in the end of the 19th century in the Chukchi Sea for whale-fishing and they would visit Russian harbors. The model was Presented to President Kennedy by Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the USSR after their meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 3-4, 1961. President Kennedy displayed in it in the Oval Office of the White House.
Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the USSR (1958–64)
National Archives and Records Administration. Office of Presidential Libraries. John F. Kennedy Library. (04/01/1985- )
Donated to the United States
JFKSG-MO-1963-1943