Punuk-Period Engraved Umiak Line Guide Artifacts — St. Lawrence Island
Three finely engraved Punuk-period (circa AD 800–1400) Eskimo walrus tusk artifacts collected on St. Lawrence Island, believed to be umiak line or sailing guides, or related cord fittings. Circular medallions, radiating lines and sharply arranged geometric borders decorate their exposed faces, while transverse passages and raised lugs provided places to pass or secure cord. Collection tags preserve the identification “Sail or line Guide.”
Two pieces are gently curved, double-tapered strips with broad centers. One carries an eight-spoked wheel within radiating lines and punctuated borders; the other has a central diamond enclosing a cross, surrounded by intersecting diagonal engraving. Their concave backs retain raised transverse lugs and deeply cut passages. Several of these attachment features are broken or incomplete.
The third is a thicker, wedge-shaped fitting with two round transverse openings and one elongated slot. Its upper face carries a circular medallion, inward-curving lines, paired circle-and-dot motifs and smaller punctuations. Rougher tusk structure remains exposed underneath. The engraving occupies the exposed upper faces, while the deeper passages and raised lugs are concentrated beneath or across the bodies. Their original cord arrangements are unrecorded.
The Punuk tradition in the Bering Sea region is associated with a distinctive geometric style of engraving on hunting implements and other worked tusk objects. Its designs often feature well-defined incised lines, circular motifs, discrete dots and carefully arranged borders. Here, the circular medallions, radiating and intersecting lines, central diamond-and-cross design and circle-and-dot details provide the stylistic basis for the Punuk identification. The contrast between the richly decorated faces and the deeply worked attachment surfaces is especially appealing.
The largest measures approximately 5 inches long; the intake also records a width and height of about 1 inch. Golden tan and dark brown surfaces show wear, cracks, chipped edges and losses at ends and lugs.
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: $800–$1,200.
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Three finely engraved Punuk-period (circa AD 800–1400) Eskimo walrus tusk artifacts collected on St. Lawrence Island, believed to be umiak line or sailing guides, or related cord fittings. Circular medallions, radiating lines and sharply arranged geometric borders decorate their exposed faces, while transverse passages and raised lugs provided places to pass or secure cord. Collection tags preserve the identification “Sail or line Guide.”
Two pieces are gently curved, double-tapered strips with broad centers. One carries an eight-spoked wheel within radiating lines and punctuated borders; the other has a central diamond enclosing a cross, surrounded by intersecting diagonal engraving. Their concave backs retain raised transverse lugs and deeply cut passages. Several of these attachment features are broken or incomplete.
The third is a thicker, wedge-shaped fitting with two round transverse openings and one elongated slot. Its upper face carries a circular medallion, inward-curving lines, paired circle-and-dot motifs and smaller punctuations. Rougher tusk structure remains exposed underneath. The engraving occupies the exposed upper faces, while the deeper passages and raised lugs are concentrated beneath or across the bodies. Their original cord arrangements are unrecorded.
The Punuk tradition in the Bering Sea region is associated with a distinctive geometric style of engraving on hunting implements and other worked tusk objects. Its designs often feature well-defined incised lines, circular motifs, discrete dots and carefully arranged borders. Here, the circular medallions, radiating and intersecting lines, central diamond-and-cross design and circle-and-dot details provide the stylistic basis for the Punuk identification. The contrast between the richly decorated faces and the deeply worked attachment surfaces is especially appealing.
The largest measures approximately 5 inches long; the intake also records a width and height of about 1 inch. Golden tan and dark brown surfaces show wear, cracks, chipped edges and losses at ends and lugs.
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: $800–$1,200.
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
