Lot 11
Harpoon Head, Old Bering Sea III, Savoonga, Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island), ca. 300-500 CE
Lot 11 Details
Harpoon Head, Old Bering Sea III, Savoonga, Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island), ca. 300-500 CE
comprised of ivory and bearing incised designs including five raised bosses embellished with a pattern of nucleated ellipses, the surrounding surface with a motif of radiating lines, inscribed with collector's inventory number
1 x 4.25 x .62 in — 2.5 x 10.8 x 1.6 cm
Estimate $1,000-$1,500
Additional Images
Provenance:
Ruthelle Kingeekek, Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, AK;
Native Hospital Gift Shop, Anchorage, AK;
Acquired by the consignor from the above
Note:
An elaborately embellished and highly sculptural object, the present harpoon head is representative of the highly refined and distinctive style associated with Bering Sea III artists. The topographically varied surface of the head is centred around a medial ridge and cut away section that would have once housed a stone blade. It has been suggested that the nucleated ellipses punctuating the form may represent eyes. [1]
(1) Emily E. Auger, The Way of Inuit Art, Aesthetics and History In and Beyond the Arctic, (North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2004), 31.
Related Works:
Wardell, Allen, Ancient Eskimo Ivories of the Bering Strait, (New York: Hudson Hills Press Inc., 1986), 90, pl. 104.
Fitzhugh, William W. and Susan A. Kaplan, Inua, (Washington: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1982), 242, pl. 291.
Many countries prohibit or restrict importation or exportation of property containing ivory, whale bone, sealskin, and/or products derived from other endangered or protected species, and require special licenses or permits in order to import or export such property. It is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that the item is properly and lawfully exported / imported. Please do not hesitate to contact one of our specialists for further details.