Eskimo Harpoon Head

[monsterrack]

I was going through some things of mine and thought some of you would like to see this. It is a harpoon head are what some call a bladder dart, it was on a shaft and when stab into a walrus are what ever a rope of some type was tied through the hole and when pulled by the hunter it would turn side ways under the hide and almost impossible to come out, they had bladder air bags tied to the rope to keep it from staying down long and to keep sight on it. The point was made of slate or stone, mostly slate. The head itself is made of walrus ivory.

 

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[curious kat]

That is interesting...wonder how old it is?

 

[outlawatheart]

VERY COOL MR. . Where the heck did you come by that?? I have a carving of a walrus made from the end of a walrus tusk. I'll take a couple of pics and post it on a new thread.

 

[monsterrack]

VERY COOL MR. . Where the heck did you come by that?? I have a carving of a walrus made from the end of a walrus tusk. I'll take a couple of pics and post it on a new thread.

A good friend picked up a collection that came from Northern Alaska and He gave me that one and I bought some others and sold the rest for him.

 

[monsterrack]

That is interesting...wonder how old it is?

They are about 150 to 200 yrs old maybe a little older.

 

[gunsil]

Here's a complete one. they are usually made of bone, not ivory, and the slot in yous is too thin for any slate or stone blade insert. This one has a blade made from an old brass rifle cartridge. The earlier ones made for a stone blade have much wider slots for the blade. Slate that thin would break rather than penetrate. Yours is a nice piece.

 

[monsterrack]

That is the best looking one I have ever seen. What I have read on them, they talked of slate or stone, but metal makes perfect sense. That is a super fine artifact thanks for showing it. You have any more eskimo stuff.



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[gunsil]

That is the best looking one I have ever seen. What I have read on them, they talked of slate or stone, but metal makes perfect sense. That is a super fine artifact thanks for showing it. You have any more eskimo stuff.

Thanks Monster!! It is the only old eskimo artifact I have. I have some modern walrus carvings and some jade ones. I have a nice walrus tusk cribbage board, but the scrimshaw on it looks more sailor made than Inuit to me. I like ivory, and also have a beautiful 1700s Arabic dagger with walrus handles, and a lot of other Native American artifacts, been collecting a lot of things over the years. My parents gave me the complete harpoon head for Christmas 30 years or so back, they also collected some native art and artifacts. The patina on your harpoon head looks really nice!