Two Eskimo Implements c. 1890 including a small child's walrus ivory story knife and a bone wedge, or snow scraper, in the form of a stylized seal, its body decorated with scrimshaw imagery associated with the mythological being palraiyuk, including toothy wolf-like snouts and human legs as well as hunters, walrus ivory, black pigment, each with custom metal base "The palraiyuk is a mythological monster that lived in lakes, marshes, and creeks in the region between the Yukon and the Kuskokwin rivers, where it killed men and animals for food. ...They are usually shown as having many sets of legs, a toothy wolf-like mouth, and segmented stomachs containing human or animal legs, arms, or other body parts that signify their antisocial behavior," Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo, p. 182. Provenance: Story Knife: Purchased from Arthur W. Erickson, Inc. in 2016 Collected by Robert Gierke in the lower Kuskokwin River delta, c. 1900 Exhibited: North by Southwest, The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Tallahassee, FL, 2010 Lengths: 5 ¼ and 8 ¼ inches HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved