Native American, Northwestern United States, Alaska, Inuit or Yupik peoples, Thule and Pre-Contact period, ca. 1200 to 1700 CE. A beautiful hand carved walrus ivory anthropomorphic figure from the arctic region. The being is stylized with thick, delineated legs, and arms resting across the chest. Characteristically, the most attention is given to detailing the face. The rounded head displays incised details, eyes, nostrils, mouth, and two indentations on the chin that may represent labret jewelry. Such figures perhaps served as idols or ancestor effigies. This is a handsome example, with nice preservation to the finer features. Size: 4" L x 1.65" W (10.2 cm x 4.2 cm)
The Thule people were the ancestors of modern Inuit whose advanced culture and technology made them a part of the global economy during what we in the West call the Medieval period. These figures were carved during a dynamic time in Thule history; recent research indicates that sometime after ca. 1200 CE, perhaps in a span of just a few years, the Thule people spread from their Bering Strait homeland all the way to Greenland, likely driven by the search for iron, both from meteoric deposits they may have heard about from the Dorset people to their east, and from trade. They traded with the Chinese to their west - metal beads and a belt buckle of Chinese manufacture and dating to 1100 to 1300 CE have been found in in the Seward Peninsula - and interacted with the Vikings to their east, who describe them in the Vinland Saga as the Skraelings.
This is an ESA antique exempt piece of ivory and cannot be sold internationally or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece is over 100 years old.
Provenance: ex-Duane's Antiques, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
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#166704
Condition
Losses to legs as shown with radiating hairline fissures from this area and neck. Stable hairline striations throughout the surface. Nice patina and preservation to facial features.