Native American/First Nations, found on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, Thule culture or slightly later, ca. 1200 to 1850 CE. A quartet of incredibly rare, hand-carved ivory and wood effigy figures, each preserved for centuries in the frozen tundra. In the photos, the two to the left are walrus ivory, the other two are wood. Each figure is anthropomorphic and simple. The largest's main features are its elongated ovoid head, its dramatically-defined shoulders, narrow waist, and split legs - this one is the most recent. The others are similarly formed, with their heads the main focus and their bodies generally less defined. The one with wider legs may be intended to be a woman as it has low mounds that may represent breasts. All of these figures once may have had more decorative elements, but if so, they have been lost to time. All are displayed together in a riker box. Size of largest: 1.75" W x 6" H (4.4 cm x 15.2 cm); shadow box: 12.25" W x 8.2" H (31.1 cm x 20.8 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: private Glorieta, New Mexico, USA collection; purchased from Ronn Munn, Casa Grade, Arizona, USA at the Brian Lebel Old West Show, Mesa, Arizona, USA, 2020

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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#154065

All are in nice condition with some tiny losses from peripheries, wear commensurate with age, and rich patina. The largest is the most recent and is in the best condition.