**First Time At Auction**

Native American, Northwestern United States, Alaska, Inuit culture, ca. 19th century CE or earlier. A hand carved walrus ivory effigy of a walrus, the elongated body and attached tusks support the bulbous head. The Inuit believed that all living things have a soul that should be honored, and miniature effigies were made after a kill to celebrate the sacrifice of the animal. Smaller carvings may have been used for rituals or carried like a talisman - the size and weight to this would be unsuitable to carry as an everyday charm. Size: 9.73" L x 1.5" W x 4" H (24.7 cm x 3.8 cm x 10.2 cm)

For thousands of years and across the thousands of miles that encompass the Arctic world, people have carved miniatures from bone, antler, and ivory. Many seem to have been used as toggles, amulets, or charms, while, in the past, many also seem to have had shamanic power. In indigenous Arctic cosmology, all living beings have a "tarniq" or a "tarninga" which means a shade or image that is, literally, a tiny human or tiny animal with the same appearance. This is comparable to the Western idea of a soul. If the living being was somehow separated from his or her tarniq, they would fall ill, and, without shamanic intervention, ultimately die. This concept of a miniature representing a soul seems intimately linked with the practice of creating miniatures.

Please note this item falls under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and is not eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, & Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.

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 Spearfish, South Dakota, USA collection

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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#177215

Old repairs with wood - front flipper reattached with wood peg, and wood inlay in gouge on rear flipper. Wood infill added to abrasions on neck and head. Tusks reattached with visible adhesive residue. Surface staining and discoloration. Natural surface pitting and ossification.