Two Inuit Bearing Sea Eskimo Carved Walrus Ivory Hunting Charms
Two Inuit Bearing Sea Eskimo Carved Walrus Ivory Hunting Charms
Depicting a polar bear and an arctic fox
Mid 19th Century
Size: 8.5cm long – 3¼ ins long and 7.5cm long – 3 ins long
Depicting a polar bear and an arctic fox
Mid 19th Century
Size: 8.5cm long – 3¼ ins long and 7.5cm long – 3 ins long
These small carvings are worn or carved by Eskimo hunters who believe that the amulets have a clairvoyant power to see the roaming polar bears and hear the clicking of walking caribou that are far away, and so silently communicate to the wearer the location of distant game. As well as leading the hunters to their prey, the amulets call the animals toward the hunter, guiding the men's arrows, lances and harpoons.
Two Inuit Bearing Sea Eskimo Carved Walrus Ivory Hunting Charms
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