Harpoon Head

Jeffrey R. Myers, New York
Howard and Saretta Barnet, New York, acquired from the above on October 9, 1985

Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait, October 3, 2009 - January 10, 2010

William W. Fitzhugh, Julie Hollowell, and Aron L. Crowell, Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait, Princeton, 2009, p. 73, fig. 7H and p. 300, cat. no. 47

Very good condition for an object of this type and age. Minor nicks, chips, scratches, surface abrasions, and wear consistent with age and use, with minor losses. Chips and losses to slate point. Exceptionally fine glossy varied aged patina.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This exceptional harpoon head contains an inherent suggestion of speed, its form piercing the air with a certain lethal grace. The viewer’s eye is drawn around and across the fluid planes of the sculpture by the intricate incised designs which cover the sculpture, as if following the path of a bird in flight. The designs, which appear to have been conceived and executed in a continuous rhythm, lend this small sculpture a deeply harmonious, almost hypnotic quality. The style is controlled but executed with the freedom which differentiates Old Bering Sea II or III harpoon heads from the strict, angular formulations of Okvik or Old Bering Sea I. The spurred form with vestigial barbs suggests the tail of a bird, a resemblance in which we can discern both a metaphorical and a magical significance. Sergei Arutiunov notes that "the harpoon head can be regarded as an idealized predator or the materialization of a bite; its round ornamental details can often be interpreted as an animal’s eyes, and the shape and ornamentation of its basal spur as hind legs or flippers."¹

Arutiunov adds that some designs may have served as signs of personal or clan ownership, or that they may have had totemic significance. Their appearance on harpoon heads "often identified the person who struck – and therefore owned – the animal."<sup>2

1</sup> Arutiunov in Fitzhugh, Hollowell, and Crowell, eds., Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait, 2009, p. 52
² Ibid., p. 133