Making one’s way through the charming medley of characters and scenes in this fascinating object, one realizes that the work is a study in contrasts. As your eyes move across the sleek, tilted curve of the tusk, they are taken in any number of directions. Figures riding reindeer are seemingly met by a giant hunter dragging a captured seal. Turn the piece around, and you see a bird hauling its own large catch while others pull a sled! The apparent randomness of the subjects and scale certainly keeps the viewer engaged. The texture of the engraving appears hurried and scratchy in places, well suited for the visual cacophony throughout. Delightful.

References: For similar works see Dorothy Jean Ray, Eskimo Art: Tradition and Innovation in North Alaska, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977), figs. 240-250.