Collection: Fry

Item Number: Fry0151

Category: Harpoon

Region: Arctic

Tribe: Eskimo

Period: 1875-1900

Materials: Wood, whale bone, baleen and walrus ivory

Description: Harpoon from Northwest Alaska with nicely formed whale bone forepiece probably carved to represent a polar bear head, with trade bead eyes. The shaft is wrapped with baleen. The forepiece and pick are tied in place with seal hide line. This harpoon is of the size that would have made it appropriate for both walrus and seal hunting.

Dimensions: 75"

Provenance:

Jeffrey Myers, New York, N.Y.
Chilberg Collection

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,

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