Winged object, c. 8th century AD · Alaska, Punuk · ID: 3050372
not available anymore
Provenance
collected in the 1960s in AlaskaJames Economos (1938-2019), Santa Fé, USA
Size
H: 12,5 cm
H: 4.9 inch
Description
walrus tooth, wood (plug), handwritten collection no. “E 34”, base
Superb example of a turreted winged object. Used to counterbalance the harpoon during flight, these counterweights represented the “wings” of the harpoon, believed to be a stylized bird of prey.
Comparing literature
Fitzhugh, William W., Gifts from the ancestors, London 2009, p. 185, Fig. k.