Inuit Carved Wood Sea Lion Bookends with Bared Teeth, a Pair wooden duck decoy and suits it just right

and suits it just right

Wonderful blue thread stitching a few inches in on the front and back cover

a few small chips to the surface of the body

viscerally satisfying object to hang on the wall--art without intent

9 1/2 x 3 5/16 x 2 3/16 and in good condition

Inuit Carved Wood Sea Lion Bookends with Bared Teeth, a Pair wooden duck decoy and suits it just rightLove at first sight with these two, which I believe are Inuit, probably Alaskan, and I'd guess 1940s or so. The mounting of the the carved sea lions (I am pretty sure sea lions rather than seals) to bookend type platforms seems a bit of an afterthought (they're not heavy enough to be very effective bookends, and the nails attaching the carvings to their platforms have some wiggle) but what marvelous and very charming creatures, most especially the