An ancient Eskimo pail or bag handleAn ancient Eskimo pail or bag handlePunuk, c. 500-1200 A.D., St. Lawrence Island, of gently curving form, the scalloped outer edge evenly drilled with a series of holes, one side of the handle incised to show six sounding whales, the flukes rising above choppy waves, the other side undecorated, the underside showing a polar bear and wolf or dog, a lone hunter trailing the animals.length 10 7/8inProvenance**Legacy (?);Daniel and Martha Albrecht collection, acquired from the aboveFor a detailed discussion of the spiritual observances and ceremonies connected with the hunting of bowhead whales, see Fitzhugh, William W., Hollowell, Julie, and Crowell, Aron L., editors, Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of the Bering Strait, 2009, Yale University Press, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, pp. 208-212, "The offering buckets used by whaler's wives were decorated with ivory handles, ivory chains, carved ornaments, and hunting charms... (Some of the handles) carry explicit whale imagery." Ibid, p.212