Inuit Ulu Presentation Piece (Musk Ox Horn)

[Battara]

Hly Crap!

That's huge! And the best example I've ever seen!

[David]

Thanks for the comments gentlemen. Yes, i was quite surprised when i went to the sellers house to pick it up. The photos (i found this on Facebook marketplace) had no scale in them so i could not tell the actual size. It is a presentation piece so i guess they decided to make it a bit oversized for the occasion. I love the carving of the ox horn. It is simple, but elegant. There is a conservation of execution. Just enough form carved in place to bring the figure to life and no more.
I am a bit obsessed now with trying to find out more about it, but since the name of the person it was presented to is not on the blade it's sort of a dead end. Many of the kid's names that have been inscribed are just first names, but there are a few last names as well, but i'm not sure there are enough clues to figure out how it was gifted to and why. I do know that there are a lot of teachers in Canada who go up to the arctic and teach for a few years for the experience and then return home. My best guess is that the recipient was one of those.

[MitsuWa.]

The handle is over sized for presentation but big blades for breaking down carcasses are used. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/18/9d...219174fd48.jpg

[David]

No doubt Mitsu, and thanks for the photo an ulu in use. Ulu can come in many sizes depending on the task they are set for and the handles are usually proportionately as well as actually smaller that the one presented here. I'm pretty sure i could successfully sharpen my ulu blade for use if i wanted to, but the handle on it would probably present problems for practice use.

[kronckew]

If you google 'antique herb chopper' you will get a bewildering array of very unusual designs, some even multi-bladed with two handles, and also a number of very ulu-like designs. I've seen Shona war axes made from herb choppers with a single central semi-circular blade 'tang' like the above. I would suspect that larger bladed ones like the OP's may have been repurposed from such a herb chopper. I also suspect many 'herb' choppers' were repurposed circular saw blades. recycling, old style.

see also http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24004

I have a modern ss 'alaskan' ulu of smaller proportions that makes an excellent pizza cutter - or herb chopper. It gets used a lot.

Some antique ones from google:

[MitsuWa.]

Kronckew, the photos you post show 19th century examples, but the ulu shown was made in the 21st century and not a repurposed antique. The original ulus were made of slate and Jade, not inspired by steel herb choppers.


QUOTE=kronckew]If you google 'antique herb chopper' you will get a bewildering array of very unusual designs, some even multi-bladed with two handles, and also a number of very ulu-like designs. I've seen Shona war axes made from herb choppers with a single central semi-circular blade 'tang' like the above. I would suspect that larger bladed ones like the OP's may have been repurposed from such a herb chopper.

[David]

Originally Posted by MitsuWa.

Kronckew, the photos you post show 19th century examples, but the ulu shown was made in the 21st century and not a repurposed antique. The original ulus were made of slate and Jade, not inspired by steel herb choppers.

Quite true about original Utu blades, but of course Inuit people have used iron and steel blades ever since European contact. Still, not inspired by herb cutters. Utu are of great cultural importance to the Inuit and are often an object of great craft. These blades performed all important functions and were indispensable to the survival of the tribe.
I suppose this is as good a place as any to start a visual library of examples of Utu. I would encourage others to add to this base.