Tribal Art & Antiquities - 22 Sep 2020
λThree Inuit implements Alaska Including a pre-historic whale bone claw shape ice scratching...
λThree Inuit implements
Alaska
Including a pre-historic whale bone claw shape ice scratching instrument with the remains of leather cordage, with a white painted inventory number A78, 14.7cm long,
a wood drill cap modelled as a stylised seal with an inset soapstone socket, 15.1cm long,
and a pre-historic skin scrapper with a ergonomic wood handle and a sinew bound flint blade, with inventory number A-1, 11.5cm long. (3)
Provenance
A private collection, Canada.
The claw shaped implement would have had a wood or caribou antler handle and used to scratch the ice to attract seals to the breathing holes.