The figures are carved on walrus ivory, with oil and graphite giving them colour. On the inner, concave side, we see boats carrying human figures, seemingly pursuing a whale rising above the surface of the water. To the right of this, a number of figures stand above and below shapes which again might represent whales or other marine creatures, while at the end a number of humans stand together in a line, two larger and several smaller, probably a family. On the outer side are a number of vivid caribou, in a range of sizes and poses, some grazing, others looking up. On the thin edges we see further caribou and whales. Altogether, this may represent a summary of a career as a hunter and life as a parent.

Bow drills were an essential tool for survival in the Arctic, used both for drilling and especially for making fire, allowing for the drill-bit to be held in the centre against the string and spun. They are a distinctive and definitely indigenous artefact of the Thule culture and its descendants in the Arctic, having few parallels elsewhere in North America.

Following the fragmentation of the Thule culture into the modern Inuit and Yupik peoples, the tradition of bow drills was continued, with the first example to be taken back to Europe being one acquired by Captain James Cook on his 1778 Arctic voyage. The Spanish flu of 1918 had a devastating effect on Inuit populations, and consequently on the practice of traditional crafts. Today, antique bow drills such as this one are considerable rarities.

Provenance

1) Donald Ellis Gallery, New York.

2) French private collection.

Condition

Two holes for bowstring. Lightly chipped at one end with no to minimal loss of carvings. Honey-coloured patina. Overall good condition, carvings admirably clear.

Moreau S. Maxwell, Prehistory of the Eastern Arctic (1983), esp. pp. 282f. Paul S. Martin, "The Bow-Drill in North America", American Anthropologist, New Series 36.1 (1934), pp. 94-97.