Featured Woman with Buckets - Assessment Problems - Need Help!

Quite correct. I saw baskets but you are right, they are buckets. I changed it. Thank you.

 

back to you.

 

Obviously, she is Mrs. Claus, and she has donned her white mink coat and filled up her buckets with feed for the reindeer!

 

Obviously. Just in time too, as they were getting mighty hungry.

 

Another option as to material is sperm whale tooth. The basic shape is similar, as well as other features. Sperm whale teeth grow in nested cones, which may be what is visible on the detail of the back of your figure. The base also looks more like sperm whale than walrus. I don't see the characteristic crystalline core of walrus tusk.

Here are some photos of sectioned sperm whale tooth, highlighting the structures (the longitudinal section has been etched to better show the growth layers) - (Sorry, you will have to follow the links to see the images):


https://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-Scrimshaw-at-the-PRM.html


https://www.researchgate.net/figure...h-15-formic-acid-showing-clear_fig1_260907789

 

Excellent research. I see what you mean about the wide sections





I'm really not knowledgeable about the various types of materials that can be used to create carvings. Thank you.

By the way, how I made the one photo into a JPEG instead of a PNG was to save it as All Files using the drop down option, and then right clicking on my computer and using the save as and selecting a JPEG. Just so you know for the future when you try to convert a PNG to a JPEG to post it here.

 

Thanks for the tips. I tried my usual tricks but couldn't get them to work this time.

 

I get all kinds of bad types of files from people. I'm always searching for ways to get around the problems

 

Bakersgma is right, it is USSR made, the woman carries water in buckets. What I can add is that she is from some north Siberian republic - maybe Yakutia/Sakha or Chukotka. Her facial features are typical, also the dress. So most probably the figurine was made there and is indeed from walrus tusk. Some information about bone cutting in the Artctic or far North of Russian federation
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...sQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3mYmIQdg1iv0tEP9g2xG_D
B.t.w., the price is quite high for the Soviet standard, when most small appliances cost 1-2-3 rubles.

 

Thanks so much for weighing in and adding the new information. I did a little research on those places, and after thinking how very cold they were, I can see the reason that why the piece was made of walrus tusk. You really enhanced my appreciation of this little piece. Thank you.