#45 • 23" Walrus Tusk Cribbage Board - Frank Ellanna

Part of October 2023 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $1,000.00

Status: Sold

Category: Ethnographic Objects

A gorgeous museum-quality walrus tusk cribbage board by Iñupiaq artist Frank Ellanna (1907-1990), whose impressive carvings are housed within the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. The cribbage board bears a quartet of highly polished, carved, and scrimshaw fossilized seals, two each facing center. Tusk demonstrates geometric designs within the pegging area, with further scrimshaw seal hunter paddling his kayak accenting the tip. Underside of the tusk displays a map of the Bering Strait communities near the artist's former King Island home while the wide end features an intricate swinging panel concealing storage space for two pairs of matching cribbage pegs. Piece is signed on the side in the artist's hand. Measures approximately 23" x 2.25" x 1.5" thick.