cribbage board

[mart]

I admit the leaves do not look like something you would expect !! But they did do a lot of stuff like this to be sold as tourist items !! Even though they didn`t play Cribbage, many others did !! They would have created what would sell !!

[Rauville]

The following is a snipet of an article from MAD reporting on the results of a Cowan Auction back in 2007.

"...Ivory objects included an Eskimo carving believed to have been the front brace for a kayak. Showing people, animals, and other objects on the front and back, the 12½" long brace was made from fossilized walrus ivory and sold for $21,850. A Nunivak Island carved ivory cribbage board showing various arctic animals, 26" long, made $11,500. A Nunivak Island two-piece ivory cribbage board, 11" long x 4¼" wide, sold for $8050. It had two carved walruses biting the tails of seals that were chewing on the tails of opposing seals, with a bear cub on each end of the board and two sea mammals within the frame. Even a pair of buttons showing carved human heads, 2" square, brought big interest, selling for $3450."

[ghopper1924]

Woo hoo, looks pretty good to me!!

[mart]

Did it say anywhere how big this thing is ??  If so I missed it !!

[talesofthesevenseas]

I think it's going to come down to how old this turns out to be. It is legal for indigenous Alaskan natives (aka 'Eskimos') to harvest ivory. With a big dollar amount possible here, I would definitely get this looked at by an expert.

 

[sapphire]

Dubiemo, you mentioned your grandfather lived in California.  Makes me wonder if this could be a Northwest Coast Nations piece. You might want to make contact with the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of BC in Vancouver, BC.  They have an extensive, incredible collection and are very knowledgeable about all the tribes that stretched from Alaska to Northern California.

[sapphire]

Here's a sample from their collection. The carving resembles that on your piece. You can click on 'More Information' and 'Images & media' for more detailed pictures.

http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/collection-online/search/item?category%5Bcategory%5D=645584&row=74

[mart]

Sure looks similar Sapphire !!

[dubiemo]

Thank you everyone.  Saphire, I viewed their collection. WOW! Some beautiful stuff. I noticed that the engraving or decoration was done with dots, as on my piece. Kind of cool. Appreciate all the help. Just need to find a way for an expert to view. My journey continues...

[greenacres]

Slow and steady wins the race!

[sapphire]

You're welcome dubie' . Wish I had had more time (like days) to spend there. It's an amazing experience and the collections are immense and beautiful. Everything from full size totem poles to the smallest of tools and decorations, clothing of incredible workmanship.  Next time I get out for a visit I'll be taking a few days just by myself to explore both the museum and the Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden again.