Description & Technical information

E 229) Exceptional pivoting (swivel) harpoon point for whaling and walrus hunting. This classically shaped example is adorned on the lower side with a series of open half-moon cutouts - resembling the edge of a saw blade - that appear to be unique and without any obvious function other than symbolic. Mineralized walrus bone (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) 

Period:  600 - 900 AD
Origin:  Punuk Culture, Bering Strait, Alaska
Medium: Mineralized walrus bone
Dimensions: 19.2 x 4 x 2.5 cm (7¹/₂ x 1⁵/₈ x 1 inches)
Categories: Tribal Art