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SKU: 5231-402

5 Ivory Bilikins Set

$2,500.00

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Early/Mid 20th Century

(A) 3.375" H x 1.375" D (B) 2.75" H x 1" x 1.5" D (C) 1.875" H x .625" x .875" D (D) 1.25" H x .5" x .75" D (E) 1" H x .75" x .625" D

Hand Carved from Eskimo Ivory of 3 Small and 2 Medium Statues with Painted Black Facial Details

Excellent Condition

Ivory Billikens Statues are the famous Billiken, the "God of Things as They Ought to Be," a popular good-luck charm figure created in the early 1900s. Designed in 1908 by American art teacher and illustrator Florence Pretz in Kansas City, Missouri. A chubby, smiling, elf-like figure with pointed ears, often sitting with legs extended, hands on belly or knees. Early versions were made in ivory, terracotta, or composition; later mass-produced in plastic, metal, etc. Became a global mascot—most famously for Saint Louis University (SLU), where the sports teams are called the Billikens. Genuine ivory Billikens from the 1910s–1920s are collectible antiques.

Provenance:  From the Len and Toni Wood Private Collection, Laguna Beach, California

Condition: Excellent

Tribe: Eskimo - Inuit - Yup'ik

Year Range: 1900 - 1925

Region: Inuit

Dimensions: 3.38 in1.38 in2.75 in1 in1.5 in1.88 in0.63 in0.88 in1.25 in0.5 in0.75 in1 in0.75 in0.63 in

Category: Ivory, Antler & Bone Figures and Carvings

Shipping

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