Carving (Alaskan Eskimo)

This ivory carving of a walrus with a detachable extra head may have been used as a paper weight, with the hole used as a pen holder, or it might have been a desktop flag stand. This object demonstrates how traditional crafts in Alaska were adopted to the tourist trade in the 20th Century. Alaskan natives frequently honor the creatures they depend on for subsistence in their ivory carvings, which decorate their personal belongings as well as being beautiful, whimsical, and useful objects for sale or for gifts.