The finely worked sperm whale tooth depicts a detailed view of a bustling city and its harbour and the name John & Winthrop was expected to bring $2000-4000 in Cranston, Rhode Island, on January 22.
The captain of the John & Winthrop, a whaling bark operating out of San Francisco in the 1880s-90s, was William T Shorey (1859-1919). Known as Black Ahab to his crew, he was the only African-American captain on the West Coast and his ship the only whaler in the world to be manned entirely by an African-American crew.
A street in Oakland, where Shorey lived, is named after him. The scene engraved to this tooth probably depicts San Francisco and is accompanied by the words Bark John & Winthrop 1876-1880.
Unsigned 'Old Master'
The top lot at the 438-lot Winter Fine & Decorative Art online-only auction was a speculative Old Master drawing.
This unsigned 18th century capriccio rendered in red chalk was catalogued as Italian but was very much in the manner of the prolific French draughtsman Hubert Robert (1733-1808). Sold at the time as finished works rather than preparatory studies, numerous sketches by Robert of semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and the French countryside are rendered in red chalk.
Boasting some well-observed passages, this drawing of a rural canal scene with fashionable figures in a punt in the foreground measuring 11 x 15in (28 x 40cm) was guided at $800-1200 but took $26,000 (£20,500). It came for sale from a Newport, Rhode Island, estate.
From the same source, two Chinese export oils on canvas painting depicted shipping in the harbour at Canton (modern-day Guangdong).
The best of these showed the famous view of the 13 Hongs of Canton, the warehouses where trade between the West and China was conducted from 1757-1842. The scene was popular in China Trade paintings from the mid-18th century onwards with this one, showing Spanish, American, British and Dutch flags, dating from c.1830 showing the buildings rebuilt after a catastrophic fire in November 1822.
It was estimated at $3000-5000 took $11,500 (£8700). The pendant picture showing shipping on the Pearl River was offered separately with a guide of $2000-3000 and sold at $6250 (£4900).