Northwestern Europe, Great Britain, found in Hawaii, ca. 18th to 19th century CE. This is a very unusual and brutal tool known as a bosun's cosh, made of twisted whale baleen and vegetal fibers woven and twisted around leaded balls. This baton was for disciplinarian purposes; hitting lazy sailors that were slacking from their work, and for more cruel impressment practices. The baton is made with a handle of twisted baleen rods that are unexpectedly sturdy. At both tips are knobs formed by hefty lead balls, that are covered with needle hitched or woven fibers from palm fronds coated in black tar. At the base or each knob are twisted cords and at the center of the baleen to hold all intact. This piece is perfectly preserved and attests to the great skill and care put into constructing this weapon. Size: 15" L x 1.2" W (38.1 cm x 3 cm); 4.4" H (11.2 cm) on included custom stand.

The bosun or boatswain was a petty officer and supervisor of the deck crew; assigning tasks, overseeing compliance, and acting disciplinarian, doling out whacks and angry words to sluggish workers to keep them on their toes. The boson's cosh, fittingly known as a "starter" or "persuader," in conjunction with harsher floggings, were used to maintain order and fast paced work. When ashore, the cosh was carried by press-gangs to forcibly take men back to the ships to serve as sailors. Kidnapping sailors was known as "impressment" or "shanghaiing," since these ships were often on the way to Shanghai. Impressment was commonly practice by English crews and the Royal Navy and sanctioned by British courts. People liable to impressment were "eligible men of seafaring habits between the ages of 18 and 55 years." Coshes intimidated and beat the unwilling men back to the ships, and in more dramatic instances, the cosh knocked the men unconscious to be carried back to the boat; waking up far out at sea with no means of escape. By the mid-19th century, a system of fixed terms gave the Royal Navy enough recruits that press-gangs were no longer as necessary, and fortunately brutal beatings aboard ships were much less common as the public view of corporal punishment became much more negative.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, acquired from 1995 to 2010

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#167401

Some light wear to bulbs at ends, commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent.