Scrimshaw

Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory or antlers. It takes the form of elaborate engravings in the form of pictures and lettering on the surface of a bone or tooth, with the engraving highlighted using a pigment, or, less often, small sculptures made from the same material.
Scrimshaw as it is practiced in Icewind Dale includes a variety of techniques and styles. The simplest (which is still extremely intricate) involves engraving pictures into the smooth surface of the bone and inking the engraved lines. More sophisticated scrimshanders carve the bone into small reliefs or statuettes, sometimes inking these as well to ensure that the details are clear.
Accomplished scrimshanders are respected in Ten-Towns. Several well-known town speakers have been scrimshanders, elected to their positions largely because their trade allowed them to travel freely to Bryn Shander.