Ivory seal puller consisting of ivory carving of seal head and wolf or bear head, with 2 seals in relief between heads. Loop of sealskin thong through carving.
Donor:
Phoebe Apperson Hearst
Collection place:
Lower Yukon, Yukon, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska; Lower Yukon
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo
Collector:
Charles L. Hall
Collection date:
ca. 1895
Materials:
Ivory (material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Carvings (visual works)
Accession date:
August 12, 1902
Context of use:
Seal puller consists of a loop of raw seal skin in which is fastened a highly carved ivory grip. The loop is fastened to the nose of the captured seal which is then dragged home on the ice by the hunter, who holds the ivory grip in his hand.