Two Bering Sea Thule Eskimo Whale Bone Fishing Lures or Decoys
Two Bering Sea Thule Eskimo Whale Bone Fishing Lures or Decoys Carved as Effigies of King Salmon with Inlaid Eyes and Incised Markings
Old smooth dark polished patina
18th Century
Sizes: 18cm long - 7 ins long and 16.5cm long - 6½ ins long
Old smooth dark polished patina
18th Century
Sizes: 18cm long - 7 ins long and 16.5cm long - 6½ ins long
Sometimes these effigies were used as decoys for pike fishing in the Yukon area. Attached to a rod they were moved back and forth on the water’s surface attracting pike and other big fish to come up which were then speared or harpooned. Several species of salmon ascend the rivers of the Bering Sea coast from June to October. Owing to their great numbers the salmon constituted a large and relatively stable food and oil resource, with their skin also used for clothing and bags. Although of huge economic importance salmon do not figure strongly in ceremonial life and so are rarely portrayed except as weights or fishing lures.
Two Bering Sea Thule Eskimo Whale Bone Fishing Lures or Decoys
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