Collection: Fry

Item Number: Fry0149

Category: Harpoon

Region: Arctic

Tribe: Eskimo

Period: 1875-1900

Materials: Walrus ivory, wood, sinew and walrus hide line

Description: Eskimo harpoon, from Nunivac Island, Alaska. The pick on this harpoon is of walrus ivory, incised with a mythical sea mammal. The line and point are correct for the harpoon, however those elements were added at a later time. This harpoon is characteristic of early Nunivac Island implements.

Dimensions: 60" (harpoon only)

Provenance:

Ted Trotta and Anna Bona, Shrub Oak, N.Y.

Exhibitions:

Lure of the Arctic, Cincinnati Art Museum, October 2007 - January 2008

References:

Fitzhugh, William W. and Susan A. Kaplan, Inua; Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1982,

Click on photo for larger picture

Return to SplendidHeritage.com