North America | Alaska
Float element
Alaska
Old Bering Sea or Punuk culture
Prior to 800 A.D.
Walrus tooth
Height: 2 in. – 5 cm
Provenance
Ex Christie’s New York, 13 January 2003, lot 207
Ex private collection, USAA
Ex Galerie Flak, Paris
Ex private collection, Nice, France, acquired from the above in 2006
Ex collection Guy Porré & Nathalie Chaboche
OBS or Punuk float element 5 cm / Galerie Flak
Price: on request
Throughout history, Eskimo cultures have shared the belief that all things in the physical world are imbued with a living spirit, or inua. In order to gain favor with the spirits controlling the animals, a hunter had to approach his prey in a respectful manner. It was believed that decorated objects, through their beauty, attracted the prey and at the same time honored its spirit. Carved depictions of great predators like polar bears or raptors on hunting equipment also helped it find its way to the prey. The harpoon was seen as a traveler between spirit worlds, a messenger between the humans and the creatures of the sea.
The implement presented here was affixed to a float. As noted by Ann Fiend-Riordan in "Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, Fieldwork Turned on Its Head", pages 54-55, "this device is put into the leather edges of the hole with the help of strong seal straps, which are gathered and tied and therefore make the hole air-tight."
The implement presented here was affixed to a float. As noted by Ann Fiend-Riordan in "Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, Fieldwork Turned on Its Head", pages 54-55, "this device is put into the leather edges of the hole with the help of strong seal straps, which are gathered and tied and therefore make the hole air-tight."
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