ESK6 -
Whale Effigy Drinking Cup.
This
exceptional older Eskimo item was fashioned from the base of a walrus tusk,
using just the hollow basal segment up to and including some ot the secondary
dentin in the tusk. That upper solid part has been carved (the old chisel marks
are clearly visible) to fashion the flukes a whale—most likely a bowhead whale.
Turned up, with the flukes at the bottom, effigy, capable of hold water (or
other fluids). The “rim’ of the cup has two small drill holes—one on each
side. I surmise that this would have been for a sinew lanyard by which the cup
may have been hung (from neck or hook), to keep the cup upright. Acting on that
conjecture I’ve added a sinew lanyard. The “cup” is 4 ½” high,, with a greatest
diameter, at the top of the slightly flattened cup, of about 2”. There is a
small old chip missing from the tip of one fluke, and there aslo is an old
generous chip from the side above the base of the fluke. I interpret this last
to be damage from when the tusk was chopped out of the walrus. The cup is well
stained from immersion in a permafrost midden. The cup reminds me of “canoe
cups) carried by Eastern Woodland Indians for drinking from ponds or streams,
and this may well have served this purpose in an Eskimo Kayak—or hung near a
water cask in an Eskimo home. The cup has two labels affixed to it that carry
collection numbers. It is an unusual item. Fine.
Price - $500.00