Eskimo Toggle

E 290) A very unusual handle or toggle carved as a slit oval terminating with a very fine and expressive human head. The unknown use of this object does not detract from the intrinsic beauty of and physical logic of the item. Bering Strait (?), Alaska. Late Punuk to early Thulé 800 – 1500 AD. Mineralized walrus tusk (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). 6 cm.