Inuit Art

November 20, 2018

LOT 124

Lot 124

Lot 124 Details

WALRUS TUSK CRIBBAGE BOARD, NUNIVAK ISLAND, ALASKA, C. 1880

ivory
elaborately relief carved with sea creatures
width 18.9" — 48 cm.

Estimate $5,000-$7,000

Realised: $7,800
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
Note:

“Inupiaq peoples were engraving representational images on ivory long before contact with Euro-Americans. Linear and circular designs have been found engraved on utilitarian tools at the earliest archaeological sites in the region and ivory featuring pictorial designs can be dated back to A.D. 1200-1800 (the time of Thule culture).

Northern Alaskans sold their belongings and engravings to occasional travelers and laborers on board ships for many years after arrival of Euro-Americans, but it was not until the gold rushes of the Klondike and Nome that permanent markets for Northern Alaskan art identified as “market art,” art described by Dorothy Ray Jean as art generally made for non-native consumers, was established.

In the first two decades of the 20th century, the new market for Northern Alaskan art emerged. As gold-rush customers realized the local Native population was extremely adept at copying illustrations and objects in two and three-dimensional forms, the market became flooded with ivory objects such as gavels, umbrella heads, napkin rings, tableware penholders, cigar holders, smoking pipes, long strings of beads, belt buckles, vases, toothpick holders, and many other objects.

The most popular item to appear among these goods was the cribbage board.”

State of Alaska Department of Education, Sheldon Jackson Museum, November 2013

CONDITION DETAILS

Condition report available upon request

LOT 124
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.