Framed Oosik from Alaska. We framed this item in a fabric covered shadow box frame, using a Nurre Caxton deep oak frame. The oosik was attached in several places using an double strength invisible thread.
From Wikipedia: Oosik is a term used in Native Alaska cultures to describe the baculum of walruses, seals, sea lions, and polar bears. Sometimes as long as 60 cm (2 ft), fossilized bacula are often polished and used as a handle for knives and other tools. The oosik is a polished and sometimes carved baculum of these large northern carnivores. The raccoon baculum is also sometimes worn as a charm for luck or fertility.
Oosiks are also frequently sold as souvenirs to tourists by Alaska Natives. In 2007 a 4.5-foot (1.4 m) long fossilized penis bone from an extinct species of walrus, believed by the seller to be the largest in existence, was sold for $8,000.
|