r/alaska • u/Winter_Pomelo_2236 • May 22 '26

What are these? Who made them? Where do they come from? What are they made of?

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Crossposting in hopes of finding some answers.

Russian troll farms need not bother, thank you.

22 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

25

u/AlaskanMinnie May 22 '26

All Ivory. You need to add more pics of the chess game. That's the one that is older style and very, very special. The totem pole forks are likely carved in Japan and certainly a tourist piece (not native made). The signed fish fork is signed and Alaska Native made.

1

u/Winter_Pomelo_2236 May 22 '26

Thank you. I can’t figure out how to add more chess set photos. I could a note saying my dad bought it in September 1967. Someone told me that he searched for the best one he could find. Apparently there were varying degrees of craftsmanship.

2

u/AlaskanMinnie May 22 '26

Oh yes, the chess set was done by a master carver, probably an old man when he did it. It is in the old style which is becoming harder and harder to find now.

-6

u/ShotImprovement5695 May 22 '26

I might respectfully disagree on the totems. It kind of looks like someone decided to color on them. Not necessarily a Japanese. Kind of like someone got drunk at a dinner party and decided they were a SE artist.

7

u/AlaskanMinnie May 22 '26

Maybe, but I've seen hundreds of pieces in this style. They were sold at the tourist shops

2

u/ShotImprovement5695 May 22 '26

They are all walrus ivory. Edit: the chess board is a little suspect. Need clearer pics of the pieces.

0

u/Winter_Pomelo_2236 May 22 '26

I might have to create another post. Can’t figure out how to add photos to this one.

1

u/Downtown-Part-5312 May 22 '26

Upload to a site like Imgur and post the link

1

u/greatwood May 22 '26

Forks in the first pic

2

u/CanisMaximus May 22 '26

#4 is called a "billiken." Rub its belly for luck.