Native American / First Nations, Northwest Coast United States, Alaska or Canada, Inupiaq / Inuit people, ca. mid-20th century CE. A group of 4 miniature whale bone spirit mask faces, one with a pair of teeth protruding from the mouth. Spirit masks bridge the worlds of the living and spirits and the moon – the face is modeled after the moon which is also where Inupiaq believed whales originated. Whale bone sculpture requires the use of older bone that has dried and ossified – new bone will splinter and be too oily to carve- hence the wonderfully aged and weathered appearance of these works.