Early Eskimo Fishing Artifacts — Tomcod Lures, Fish-Spear Fork & Stone Points
Five early Eskimo fishing components collected on St. Lawrence Island: a richly colored barbed lure, a deeply weathered composite tomcod-lure body, a forked fish-spear point and two loose stone points for composite lures. The group spans the nineteenth century back to likely Punuk or earlier material. The weathered tomcod-lure body may date to the fifteenth century or before; the fish-spear fork is likely eighteenth or nineteenth century.
The larger barbed lure has a drilled line opening and an upturned point, with cream, amber and dark brown coloration enlivening its carved surface. The older lure body preserves the form of a composite fishing implement whose projecting barbs are now missing. The two detached stone points show the small cutting elements that could be secured to such a body, while the fork’s closely spaced prongs were designed for spearing fish. Bone and tusk components demonstrate the variety of materials and construction used in this specialized equipment.
Wear includes checks and abrasion, with losses around the fish-spear fork’s tang and prong edges. The older lure body is extensively weathered and incomplete.
The largest hook measures approximately 6 inches long × 1 inch wide.
Provenance: From the collection of Karl R. Reinhard, D.V.M., Ph.D.; subsequently by family descent. A veterinarian and microbiologist whose field career extended from New Guinea to Alaska, Reinhard served with the United States Public Health Service beginning in 1951. During health-study visits to St. Lawrence Island between 1954 and 1960, he developed lasting friendships with residents of Gambell and Savoonga and assembled a collection of Indigenous artwork and historic objects. He remembered these years as the “golden period” of his career and later drew upon them for People of the Squeezed-Out Land: The Art and Times of an Eskimo Artist, an unpublished manuscript preserved in an annotated April 1975 draft. According to information provided by Reinhard’s family, the collection was exhibited at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1993–94.
Auction Estimate: $250–$400.
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Five early Eskimo fishing components collected on St. Lawrence Island: a richly colored barbed lure, a deeply weathered composite tomcod-lure body, a forked fish-spear point and two loose stone points for composite lures. The group spans the nineteenth century back to likely Punuk or earlier material. The weathered tomcod-lure body may date to the fifteenth century or before; the fish-spear fork is likely eighteenth or nineteenth century.
The larger barbed lure has a drilled line opening and an upturned point, with cream, amber and dark brown coloration enlivening its carved surface. The older lure body preserves the form of a composite fishing implement whose projecting barbs are now missing. The two detached stone points show the small cutting elements that could be secured to such a body, while the fork’s closely spaced prongs were designed for spearing fish. Bone and tusk components demonstrate the variety of materials and construction used in this specialized equipment.
Wear includes checks and abrasion, with losses around the fish-spear fork’s tang and prong edges. The older lure body is extensively weathered and incomplete.
The largest hook measures approximately 6 inches long × 1 inch wide.
Provenance: From the collection of Karl R. Reinhard, D.V.M., Ph.D.; subsequently by family descent. A veterinarian and microbiologist whose field career extended from New Guinea to Alaska, Reinhard served with the United States Public Health Service beginning in 1951. During health-study visits to St. Lawrence Island between 1954 and 1960, he developed lasting friendships with residents of Gambell and Savoonga and assembled a collection of Indigenous artwork and historic objects. He remembered these years as the “golden period” of his career and later drew upon them for People of the Squeezed-Out Land: The Art and Times of an Eskimo Artist, an unpublished manuscript preserved in an annotated April 1975 draft. According to information provided by Reinhard’s family, the collection was exhibited at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1993–94.
Auction Estimate: $250–$400.
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
