Shaded grey anchor wrapped in rope, overlapped by soft purple hibiscus flowers and leaves, tattooed on skin.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Anchor and purple hibiscus tattoo

Mixed · Photo

A grey shaded anchor with a rope wrapped around its shank forms the central subject, with dotted and stippled texture on the metal. Two large purple hibiscus-style flowers and some leaves sit behind and around the anchor, with softer, blended shading. The image is a close crop of the tattooed skin, with the design filling most of the frame.

Find an artist for this

Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell, the Marguerite lost her spare anchor off the Horn in March, and the bosun has been sulking ever since as if the sea took it out of spite. We hung the new one off the bow for three weeks while the carpenter fussed over its shank, wrapping the iron in old hemp so it would not chafe the hull.

Keep reading

At Papeete the purser traded our salt beef for a basket of flowers from a woman who would not take coin. Purple hibiscus, each one as wide as a man's hand. The cabin boy pressed two between the pages of the logbook, thinking nobody noticed. I saw him at the rail afterwards with his lips moving over the names of the islands like a prayer he had been taught and did not quite believe.

The night we weighed anchor, the rope parted at the ring and the iron went down with a sound I still feel in my teeth. Nobody was hurt. Captain Hale stood at the taffrail with his hat in his fist and said only that iron keeps its own counsel. The boy tore one flower from the book and dropped it over the side, and we watched it spin on the black water until the wake took it.

I am sending this with the Lady Ann, bound home by the Cape, so you will have it before the spring. Keep the sketch I made of the anchor's crown. Tell Mother the sea is calm and I have stopped counting the days, mostly. Your loving brother, Tom.

More like this

Shaded grey anchor wrapped in a chain, with purple hibiscus flowers and grey leaves, a realistic colour tattoo on skin.
Anchor with purple hibiscus flowers
Colour tattoo of an anchor wrapped in rope and pink roses with blue flowers and green vines on a limb.
Anchor with pink roses and blue flowers
Shaded grey anchor wrapped in rope and decorated with blue flowers, with script initials on the stock, in a traditional style on the lower leg.
Anchor with rope and blue flowers on a calf
Black and grey tattoo of ornate scissors crossing a straight razor, with soft smoke shading behind them, on skin.
Scissors and razor with smoke
Close photo of a traditional style tattoo of an anchor wrapped in a rope heart, in black, grey and muted purple, on a area of skin.
Anchor wrapped in rope heart tattoo
A colour and grey anchor tattoo wrapped in pink roses, green leaves and rope, with a small script word beside the flukes, placed on the side of the body.
Anchor with roses and rope on the side
Black and grey traditional-style anchor tattoo wrapped in rope with two starfish, script lettering on the shank and 6:19 on the crown, on the side of the torso.
Anchor with rope and starfish on the side
Neo-traditional tattoo of a grey anchor wrapped in rope and entwined with red roses, teal flowers and green leaves, on the calf.
Anchor with roses and rope on a calf
Traditional style tattoo of a black anchor with a heart-shaped top, wrapped in gold rope and overlapped by a red lily, on the lower leg.
Anchor with heart, rope and red lily
Close photograph of a black and grey outlined angel tattoo with a halo and shaded wings on skin, with no body placement visible.
Winged angel with halo tattoo
Grey outlined anchor tattoo with swirling scrollwork and a pale blue curved section at the top, sitting on the upper back near the shoulder blade.
Anchor with swirls on the upper back
Black and grey realism tattoo of a lace garter with a shaded satin bow, wrapped around the thigh.
Lace garter and bow on a thigh

From the plentytattoo archive, uploaded by a user. Is this your work? Ask for credit or removal.