Matthew Sheldon, Head of the Curatorial Department at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, talks about a scrimshaw belonging to an African sailor who helped the Royal Navy of the 1820s fight the transatlantic slave trade

A scrimshaw would usually be a carving in whalebone or walrus ivory and were often very intricate and highly designed decorative pieces. This one is rather different because it’s not whale or walrus, but ivory from a baby elephant collected in West Africa and it has quite an amazing story to tell.

What’s immediately unusual is the inscription: ‘Jim Freeman, Krouman HMS Sybille Commdr Collier 1827’ and ‘Jim Freeman Head Krouman, Owen Glendower Sir Roberts Mends Commdr 1823’.