The artistic sense appears to be much more highly developed among the
western Eskimo than among those of the east. Among the latter,
decoration appears to be applied almost solely to the clothing, while
tools and utensils are usually left plain, and if ornamented are only
adorned with carving or incised lines.[N511] West of the Mackenzie
River, and especially south of Bering Strait, Eskimo decorative art
reaches its highest development, as shown by the collections in the
National Museum. Not only is everything finished with the most extreme
care, but all wooden objects are gaily painted with various pigments,
and all articles of bone and ivory are covered with ornamental
carvings and incised lines forming conventional patterns.
[Footnote N511: See the various accounts of the eastern Eskimo
already referred to.]
There are in the collections also many objects that appear to have
been made simply for the pleasure of exercising the ingenuity in
representing natural or fanciful objects, and are thus purely works of
art. Want of space forbids any further discussion of these interesting
objects. There is in the Museum sufficient material for a large
monograph on Eskimo art. As would naturally be expected, art at Point
Barrow occupies a somewhat intermediate position between the highly
developed art of the southwest and the simple art of the east. I have
given sufficient figures in my description of their clothing and
various implements to illustrate the condition of purely decorative
art. A few words may be added by way of résumé. It will be noticed
that whenever the bone or ivory parts of weapons are decorated the
ornamentation is usually in the form of incised lines colored with red
ocher or soot. These lines rarely represent any natural objects, but
generally form rather elegant conventional patterns, most commonly
double or single borders, often joined by oblique cross lines or
fringed with short, pointed parallel lines.
A common ornament is the incised “circle and dot,” so often referred
to in the foregoing descriptions. This is a circle about one-quarter
inch in diameter, described as accurately as if done with compasses,
with a deeply incised dot exactly in the center. This ornament is much
more common south of Bering Strait, where, as Mr. L. M. Turner informs
me, it is a conventionalized representation of a flower. Some of the
older implements in our collection, ornamented with this figure, may
have been obtained by trade from the southern natives, but the Point
Barrow people certainly know how to make it, as there are a number of
newly made articles in the collection thus ornamented. Unfortunately,
we saw none of these objects in the process of manufacture, as they
were made by the natives during odd moments of leisure, and at the
time I did not realize the importance of finding out the process. No
tool by which these figures could be made so accurately was ever
offered for sale.
Neither Mr. Turner nor Mr. Dall, both of whom, as is well known, spent
long periods among the natives of the Yukon region, ever observed the
process of making this ornament. The latter, however, suggests that it
is perhaps done with an improvised centerbit, made by sticking two
iron points close together in the end of a handle. While weapons are
decorated only with conventional patterns, other implements of bone or
ivory, especially those pertaining to the chase, like the seal drags,
etc., already mentioned, are frequently carved into the shape of
animals, as well as being ornamented with conventional patterns.
Carvings of animals’ heads usually have the mouth, nostrils, etc.,
indicated by blackened incisions, and often have small, colored beads,
bits of wood, or ivory inlaid for the eyes. When beads are used, the
perforation of the bead is generally made to represent the pupil of
the eye. Beads were also used for ornamenting dishes and other wooden
objects.
The harpoon blade boxes of wood carved into the shape of the animal to
be pursued have been already described. Other wooden objects, like the
shafts of lances, and arrows, paddles, boxes, dishes, the woodwork of
snowshoes, sledges, umiaks, etc., are frequently painted either all
over, or in stripes or bands. The pigment generally used is red ocher,
sometimes set off with stripes of black lead. The only case in which a
different pigment is used is that of some arrows from Sidaru, which,
in addition to the usual black or red rings, have a rather dingy green
ring round the shaft. This green looks as if it might have been
derived from the “green fungus or _peziza_,” mentioned by Dall as in
use among the ancient Aleuts.[N512] The red ocher is applied smoothly
in a rather thin coat which looks as if it were always put on in the
manner observed by Capt. Herendeen, who saw a man painting a new sled
at Utkiavwĭñ. He licked the freshly scraped wood with his tongue, so
as to moisten it with saliva and then rubbed it with a lump of red
ocher. The custom of painting wooden objects with red ocher seemed to
be rather more common among the “Nunatañmiun,” from whom perhaps the
Point Barrow people borrowed the fashion, which is not mentioned among
the eastern Eskimo. Nordenskiöld states that red is the favorite color
among the natives of Pitlekaj.[N513]
[Footnote N512: Contributions to N. A. Ethn., vol. 1, p. 86.]
[Footnote N513: Vega, vol. 2, p. 135.]
The painting of the arrow shafts in many cases curiously resembles the
marks used by modern archers to distinguish the ownership of their
shafts, and may have formerly served the same purpose. We made no
inquiries about the matter on the spot, and there is no certain
evidence in the series of arrows collected that these are or are not
marks of ownership. Some arrows, apparently the property of the same
man, have different marks, while arrows from different villages are
similarly marked. On examining our series of fifty arrows from the
three villages (fourteen from Nuwŭk, twenty from Utkiavwĭñ, and
sixteen from Sidaru) it will be seen that the commonest style of
painting is to have the shaft painted red from the beginning or middle
of the feathering to about one-fifth of its length from the head.
Twenty arrows are marked in this way--eleven from Nuwŭk, belonging to
at least two distinct sets, and nine from Utkiavwĭñ, belonging to
three sets. Nine have about 8 inches of the middle of the shaft
painted red, with a black ring at the middle of the feathering. Seven
of these are from Sidaru, one from Nuwŭk, and one from Utkiavwĭñ. Five
from Sidaru have a red ring round the middle, and a green one about
the middle of the feathering, and four of the same set have also a red
ring in front of the green one. Three from Utkiavwĭñ, belonging to
different sets, have the shaft painted red from the middle to the
beginning of the feathering, and three red rings 2 inches from the
nock. Seven belonging to these sets from the two northern villages are
unpainted.
A set of two small arrows which belong with the boy’s bow No. 89904
[786] are peculiar in their marking. About 5½ inches of the middle of
the shaft is painted red, there is a black ring round the middle, and
a black spiral running the whole length of the feathering.
The only decorative work in metal is to be seen in the pipes and their
accompanying picks and fire steel which have already been described.
In addition to these illustrations of decorative art, we brought home
a series of seventy-nine objects which may be considered as purely
works of art without reference to decoration. Some of the older
objects in this series perhaps also served the purpose of amulets or
charms,[N514] but a number of the new ones were made simply as works
of fancy for sale to us. These objects are all carvings of various
materials, sometimes very rude and sometimes very neatly finished, but
in most cases even when rudely made highly characteristic of the
object represented.[N515] Walrus ivory, usually from the tusks, but
sometimes from the teeth, is the commonest material for these
carvings. Thirty-six of the series are made of this material, which is
very well suited for the purpose, being worked with tolerable ease,
and capable of receiving a high finish. Soapstone, from the ease with
which it can be cut, is also rather a favorite material. Seventeen of
these carvings are made of soapstone, in many cases evidently pieces
of an old lamp or kettle. Other mineral substances appear to be rarely
used. Three images, all made for sale and by the same hand, are of
soft white gypsum and one tiny image of a bear is rudely flaked out of
gray flint. (There are in the collection a number of rude images of
whales, made by flaking from flint, jasper, and glass, but as these
were ascertained without doubt to be amulets, they will be described
under that head.) Eleven are made of wood, nine of bone, one of
antler, and one of the tooth of the polar bear. Twenty-three of these
carvings represent human beings, sometimes intentionally grotesque and
caricatured; twenty-one, bowhead whales; fourteen, polar bears; five,
seals; three, walruses; one, a beluga; one, a fish; and seven,
fanciful monsters. Four are ornamented objects made for sale; not,
strictly speaking, images.
[Footnote N514: Compare Nordenskiöld, Vega, vol. 2, p. 126 and
Rink, Tales, etc., p. 52.]
[Footnote N515: Compare Bessels, Naturalist, vol. 18, No. 9,
p. 880, where he speaks of finding among the people of Smith Sound
ivory carvings representing animals and human figures “exceedingly
characteristic.” (See also Fig. 21 of the same paper.)]
Six of the representations of the human face or figure are of wood,
and with one exception were all freshly made for sale. Fig. 387
represents the only antique specimen of this kind (No. 56496 [655]).
This was found among the débris in one of the old ruined houses in
Utkiavwĭñ by Lieut. Ray, and is very old, blackened, and dirty. The
carving was evidently done with a blunt instrument, probably a stone
tool. This specimen, which was perhaps the head of a doll, is 7.1
inches in total length, with a head 3.4 inches long. We saw no similar
object of modern construction.
[Illustration: FIG. 387.--Ancient carving, human head. 1/2]
[Illustration: FIG. 388.--Wooden figures.]
Figs. 388_a_ and 388_b_ (Nos. 89726 [1192] and 89727 [1193], from
Utkiavwĭñ) are a pair of rather roughly whittled human figures, a man
and woman, respectively, both without clothes (except that the woman
has a black-lead mark round the calf of each leg to indicate the tops
of the boots). They were made for sale, and are perhaps unfinished
dolls. The man (No. 89726 [1192]) is 11 inches long and tolerably well
proportioned, except about the feet, which are very clumsily made. The
eyes and mouth are incised and the hair colored with black-lead. The
woman (No. 89727 [1193]) is a very similar figure, but only 9.2 inches
long. She has prominent breasts, and her legs are shorter in
proportion than the man’s.
No. 89725 [1185], from Utkiavwĭñ, is a clumsy image of a man, rudely
whittled out of a flat, hardwood stick, 7¼ inches long. The body and
legs are long, the latter somewhat straddling, with clumsy feet. The
outstretched arms are very short and stumpy. It has been painted all
over with a thin coat of red ocher, and the legs and feet have a coat
of black lead over this. The hair also is marked out with black lead,
and a small opaque white bead is fastened with a peg to the middle of
the breast. This image was made for the market.
No. 56495_a_ [203], from Utkiavwĭñ, is of a pair of very rude images,
also made solely for the market. Each is 8 inches long, and is merely
an oblong piece of board, flat and rough on the back, roughly beveled
from the middle to each side in front. One end is surmounted by a
rather rudely carved human head, with the features in relief and the
eyes and mouth incised. The eyebrows are marked out with black lead,
and there is a longitudinal line of black lead down the middle of the
front.
[Illustration: FIG. 389.--Carving, face of Eskimo man. 1/2]
Fig. 389 (No. 89724 [1123] from Nuwŭk) is the face of a male Eskimo,
3.2 inches long, carved out of a flat piece of some coniferous wood
weathered to a dark, reddish brown. The labrets are represented by two
small, red glass beads with white centers, fastened on in the proper
position with wooden pegs. There is a deep groove around the edge of
the face into which is fastened a strip of yellowish wolfskin with
long fur to represent the trimming around the hood of the jacket. This
specimen was made for sale, and the carving is well executed. It is a
characteristic Eskimo face, and would pass for a portrait of Apaidyáo,
a well known young Eskimo, who was employed by Lieut. Ray as a guide
and hunter.
[Illustration: FIG. 390.--Grotesque soapstone image, “walrus man.”]
We collected only two soap-stone carvings representing men, both of
which were newly made. One of these, Fig. 390 (No. 89569 [1095] from
Nuwŭk), is a grotesque image 2.9 inches long, roughly carved from a
flat piece of an old lamp or pot. This is almost exactly the form in
which the Eskimo, especially the children, usually draw a man. The
writer’s _portrait_ has been drawn in very much the same shape. The
features are very rudely indicated, and a long projecting tusk of bone
is inserted at each corner of the mouth and glued in with refuse oil.
This figure is probably meant to represent the “man with tusks,”
before referred to, who figures in several of the legendary fragments
which we obtained.
No. 89568 [1108], from Utkiavwĭñ, probably represents the same being.
It is a mask of soapstone, a piece of an old lamp, 2.8 inches long,
with very characteristic features in low relief, and a pair of sharp,
projecting, decurved tusks, about 1 inch long, which appear to be made
of the vibrissæ of the walrus. The back of the mask is roughly
hollowed out. No. 89575 [1014], from Nuwŭk, is a clumsy and carelessly
made image of a man, 3.4 inches long, whittled out of a flat, rough
piece of soft, white gypsum. The arms are short and clumsy and the
legs straddling, and there is a large elliptical hole through the
middle of the body. The features are indicated only by digging little
cavities for the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. This and two other images
of the same material, a bear equally rude, and a very well carved and
characteristic beluga, were made by the ingenious young native, Yöksa,
previously mentioned.
[Illustration: FIG. 391.--Bone image of dancer.]
The best bone figure of a man is shown in Fig. 391 (No. 89353 [1025],
from Nuwŭk), also newly made. This is an image, 5 inches long, of the
giant “Kikámigo,” previously mentioned, and is a very excellent piece
of workmanship. The material is rather vascular compact bone. On the
head is a conical dancing cap, 1.4 inches high, made of deerskin, with
the flesh side out, and colored with red ocher, with a tuft of wolf
hairs, 3 inches long, protruding from the apex. Around the middle of
the cap is a narrow strip of the same material fringed on the lower
edge with fifteen flat, narrow pendants of ivory, made to represent
mountain-sheep teeth. To the back of this strip is fastened a
half-downy feather nearly 4 inches long. A slender wooden stick is
stuck into the strip behind, so that the tip reaches just above the
apex of the cap. To a notch in the end of this is tied a bit of
dressed deerskin, 1¼ inches long, cut into three strips.
Fig. 392 (No. 89348 [1127], from Utkiavwĭñ) is an image neatly carved
from whale’s bone, which may have been meant for an amulet, or
possibly the handle of a drill cord, as it is not new, and has two
oblique holes in the middle of the back, which meet so as to form a
longitudinal channel for a string. The eyes, mouth, and labret holes
are incised and filled with black dirt. The total length is 3.3
inches.
[Illustration: FIG. 392.--Bone image of man. 1/2]
Fig. 393 (No. 89344 [1272], from Utkiavwĭñ) is a very grotesque image
of a naked man, rudely carved from compact, rather porous bone,
impregnated with oil, but scraped smooth. It is 5 inches long. The
mouth and eyes are incised and blackened, and the nostrils simply
bored out.
The ivory carvings representing human figures are all of rather rude
workmanship. No. 89352 [1100], Fig. 394, from Nuwŭk, is a tolerably
good figure, 3.3 inches long, of a sitting man holding up his hands
before his face. This specimen is old and is made of walrus ivory
yellow from age and oil. No. 89351 [1085] from Nuwŭk, is a similar
image, 3.8 inches long, newly made, with the arms at the sides,
roughly carved from coarse walrus ivory. The eyes and mouth are
incised and filled with dark colored dirt. Fig. 395 (No. 89349 [980],
from Nuwŭk) is an old image made of yellow walrus ivory and closely
resembling the bone image (No. 89348 [1127]) already figured, but with
the hands by the sides. It is 2.7 inches long and has a string 4
inches long tied into the channel in the back.
[Illustration: FIG. 393.--Grotesque bone image.]
[Illustration: FIG. 394.--Ivory image, sitting man.]
[Illustration: FIG. 395.--Human figure carved from walrus ivory.]
Nos. 89346 and 89347 [990], from Nuwŭk, are a pair of little men,
standing erect, about 2 inches high, rather roughly carved, of
slightly yellow walrus ivory. Both have large, clumsy feet and legs,
and the eyes, nostrils, and mouth incised and filled in as usual with
dark colored dirt. The arms are in high relief. No. 89346 [990_b_] has
his hands clasped in front of him, while No. 89347 [990_a_] has them
clasped behind his back. The legs of the latter are excavated on the
inside as if to fit it upon the end of some object. It is more
probable, however, that this image was carved from the foreshaft of a
seal-dart, and that the excavation is merely the slot in the end of
the latter. These two images are evidently modern, but do not appear
freshly made. No. 89345 [1273] from Utkiavwĭñ is a very rude image,
2.6 inches long, having a very small head and no arms. It is somewhat
discolored walrus ivory and quite dirty, and though evidently modern,
from the appearance of the ivory, does not appear to be freshly made.
This figure is even ruder in design than those from Siberia figured by
Nordenskiöld.[N516]
[Footnote N516: Vega, vol. 2, p. 127.]
[Illustration: FIG. 396.--Ivory carving, three human heads.]
The best of our human figures from Point Barrow show much greater art,
both in workmanship and design, than those just mentioned, but can not
compare with the elegant figures in the museum from the more southern
parts of Alaska. The four remaining ivory carvings represent the human
face alone. No. 89342 [989], Fig. 396, from Nuwŭk, is a thick piece of
walrus ivory 3.3 inches long and 1.6 wide, carved into three human
faces, a man in the middle and a woman on each side, joined together
at the side of the head. Though the workmanship is rough, the faces
are characteristic. The man has labrets and a curved line of tattooing
at each corner of the mouth, indicating the successful whaleman, and
the women, the usual tattooing on the chin. The eyes, nostrils,
mouths, labrets, and tattooing are incised and blackened as usual.
This specimen, though apparently modern, does not seem fresh enough to
have been made for sale. The seller called it “a man and his two
wives” without giving them any names. It may be intended as a portrait
of some celebrated whaleman.
Fig. 397 is one of a pair of very rude faces (No. 56523 [52] from
Utkiavwĭñ), 1½ inches long, which were made for sale. It is simply a
walrus-tooth cut off square on the ends and on one side rudely carved
into a face, with the eyes and mouth incised and filled in with dark
colored dirt. Fig. 398 (No. 89343 [1124] from Nuwŭk) is a flat piece
of ivory (a bit of an old snow shovel edge), 4 inches long and 1.2
inches wide, roughly carved and covered with incised figures. The
upper edge is carved into five heads: First, a rude bear’s head, with
the eyes and nostrils incised and blackened as usual; then four human
heads, with a face on each side. The front faces have the noses and
brows in low relief and the eyes, nostrils, and mouths incised and
blackened; the back ones are flat, with the last three features
indicated as before. At the end is a rude figure of a bear, heading
toward the right, with the ears in relief, the eyes and mouth roughly
incised and blackened, and the legs indicated by roughly incised and
blackened lines on the obverse face. Both faces are covered with
rudely incised and blackened lines.
[Illustration: FIG. 397.--Human head carved from a walrus tooth.]
On the obverse there is a single vertical line between each pair of
heads. Below the bear’s head is a bear heading toward the right; under
the first human head, an umiak with four men; under the second,
a “killer” (Orca) heading toward the right; under the third, two of
the usual conventionalized whales’ tails suspended from a cross-line;
and under the last, a “killer” with very large “flukes” heading toward
the left.
[Illustration: FIG. 398.--Elaborate ivory carving.]
On the reverse there are, below the bear, a bear heading toward the
right, below each of the human heads a whale’s tail with the flukes
up, and under the bear’s head a bear heading toward the right. This
end is perforated with a large round hole, into which is knotted a bit
of deer sinew about 3 inches long, the other end of which is tied
round the junction of two little bowhead whales, each about 1 inch
long and carved out of a single piece of ivory, head to head. They are
rather rudely carved and have the spiracles incised and blackened.
This object appears freshly made, but perhaps commemorates the
exploits of some four hunters. It was purchased along with other
objects and its history was not learned at the time.
[Illustration: FIG. 399.--Bear carved of soapstone. 3/4]
Perhaps the best image of a polar bear is No. 89566 [1252], Fig. 399,
from Utkiavwĭñ, which is quite characteristic. It represents the bear
standing and was carved out of soft, gray soapstone with a knife, and
finished off smoothly with a file. It is 4 inches long. No. 89571
[116_b_], from Nuwŭk, is a very rude flat soapstone bear, 1.9 inches
long, in profile, showing only one fore and one hind leg. It was made
for sale, but No. 89576 [966], from the same village, which is almost
exactly like this, though smaller, is old. No. 89574 [1027], from
Nuwŭk, is the gypsum carving of a bear, above referred to, which is
very like the preceding two specimens. It is 2.5 inches long and has a
large tail and large clumsy legs.
No. 89578 [1051], Fig. 400, from Utkiavwĭñ, is a thin profile figure
of a polar bear, made by flaking from dark gray flint. It is 1.4
inches long, and the tail is disproportionately long. The specimen
does not appear to be new, and was perhaps intended for an amulet,
like the flint whales already mentioned.
[Illustration: FIG. 400.--Bear flaked from flint.]
The only bone figure of a bear in the collection, No. 89335 [1275],
Fig. 401_a_, from Utkiavwĭñ, is very crude. It has a very long, slim
body and neck, and short, slender legs. The mouth, eyes, and nostrils
are incised and are blackened as usual. The carving is rudely done,
but the specimen, which was made for sale, has been scraped smooth. It
is 5.5 inches long, and made of whale’s bone, soaked in oil to make it
appear old.
[Illustration: FIG. 401.--Bone figures: (_a_) bear; (_b_) bear’s
head.]
Fig. 401_b_ (No. 89471 [997], from Utkiavwĭñ) is the end of some old
implement, 6 inches long, one end of which is carved into a rather
rude bear’s head, with the ears, nostrils, outline of the mouth, and
the vibrissæ incised and blackened. Sky-blue glass beads are inlaid
for the eyes and bits of tooth for the canine tusks. On the throat is
a conventional figure with two “circles and dots,” all incised and
blackened. The carving is freshly done, but soiled, to make it look
old.
The three newly made ivory bears are all represented standing and are
quite characteristic. All have the eyes, nostrils, and mouth incised
and blackened. Fig. 402_a_ (No. 89337 [1274], from Utkiavwĭñ) is the
best in execution. It is made of white ivory and is 3.3 inches long.
No. 56524, [92], from Nuwŭk, is a small bear, 1.7 inches long, not
quite so well carved, and disproportionally long-legged. The left hind
leg has been broken off close to the body and doweled on with a wooden
peg. Another little bear from Nuwŭk (No. 89841 [992]) is still more
rudely carved, but closely resembles the preceding.
A larger carving, rather roughly executed (No. 89338 [1098], from
Nuwŭk), represents a standing bear 3.2 inches long, holding a whale
crosswise in his mouth. The whale is a separate piece, held in by a
wooden peg driven through the bear’s lower jaw. This specimen is newly
made from rather coarse walrus ivory.
Fig. 402_b_ (No. 89340 [953], from Utkiavwĭñ) is a very ancient ivory
image of a bear, 3.4 inches long, which was evidently intended for an
amulet, as there is a stout lug on the belly, into which are bored two
oblique holes, so as to make a longitudinal channel for a string. Into
this is knotted a stout cord of loosely twisted sinew. The execution
of the image is particularly good, but the design is very rude. The
specimen is so ancient that the ivory of which it is made has become
almost black.
[Illustration: FIG. 402.--Ivory figures of bears.]
No. 56528_a_ [56_a_] from Utkiavwĭñ is a walrus tooth, 1.6 inches
long, carved into the shape of a bear’s head. Both design and
execution are very rude. Light blue glass beads are inlaid for the
eyes, and the nostrils and outline of the mouth are incised and filled
in with black dirt. It was made for sale. A still more rude carving,
also made for sale, is No. 56528, from Utkiavwĭñ, which is an old and
weathered canine tooth of the polar bear, with the point freshly
whittled so as to look something like a bear’s head. Two sky-blue
glass beads are inlaid to represent the eyes and one for the nose, and
the mouth is incised and blackened.
The walrus does not appear to be a favorite subject for
representation. The part of the collection already described shows
that it occurs very seldom as a decoration, and we obtained only three
images of this animal, one in soapstone and two in ivory, all small
and very rude, both in design and execution. They are all newly made.
The best image is shown in Fig. 403_a_ (No. 89333 [1384] from
Utkiavwĭñ). This is 2.3 inches long and made of coarse walrus ivory.
The head is rather good, but the body simply tapers to a broken point.
A bit of wood is inlaid for the left eye, but the right is merely
represented by a hole.
Fig. 403_b_ (No. 89334 [1067], from Utkiavwĭñ) is exceedingly rude.
The eyes, nostrils, and mouth are incised and blackened as usual, and
the vibrissæ (“whiskers”) are represented by rather large round pits
on the snout, also filled in with black dirt. It is 2.9 inches long,
and appears to have been dipped in the oil-bucket to make it look old.
Both the images bear a strong resemblance to the rude carvings of
walruses from Siberia figured by Nordenskiöld.[N517] No. 89570 [1271]
from Nuwŭk is of soapstone, 2 inches long, with tusks rudely carved
from walrus ivory. The head is but roughly indicated, while the body
is shaped like a slug, and is bifid at the pointed end to represent
the hind flippers. The eyes and nostrils are roughly incised.
[Footnote N517: Vega, vol. 2, p. 142.]
[Illustration: FIG. 403.--Rude ivory figures of walrus.]
[Illustration: FIG. 404.--Images of seal--wood and bone.]
The seal, on the other hand, is a favorite object for artistic
representation. It is seen often, as already described, as a
decoration on various implements, especially the drag lines,
generally in a very characteristic shape, and the five seal images
in the collection are excellent in design and execution. Almost
all are decidedly superior to those from Pitlekaj, figured by
Nordenskiöld.[N517b] All are newly made except No. 89737 [857_a_].
Fig. 404_a_, from Utkiavwĭñ, which is 4.2 inches long, and made of
spruce, very old, weathered, and discolored with dirt and grease. It
is nicely carved and scraped smooth, and is very good in its general
proportions, though the details are not represented as in the other
images.
[Footnote N517b: Vega, vol. 2, p. 142.]
The best figure (No. 89330 [999] figured in the Point Barrow Rept.
Ethnol., Pl. V, Fig. 6, from Utkiavwĭñ) is carved from walrus ivory
and is 4.3 inches long. It represents a male rough seal, and is
exceedingly accurate and highly finished. The lower jaw is perforated
and a bit of sinew thread tied in to represent the drag line. Small
red glass beads with white centers are inlaid for the eyes. The other
three are all of bone and represent dead male seals stretched on their
backs with the drag line in their jaw as they are dragged home.
No. 56579 [75], Fig. 404_b_, from Utkiavwĭñ, is 5.7 inches long, and
very smoothly carved from walrus jaw bone, with round bits of wood
inlaid for the eyes. The proportions are excellent, but the details
are not strongly brought out. This specimen is a little older than the
rest, and may have been an amulet for good luck in seal catching. The
other two are of compact white bone, perhaps that of the reindeer.
No. 89331 [1143], from Utkiavwĭñ, is 3.4 inches long, and has the
breast and back flattened and the flippers in high relief. The anus,
genital opening, and eyes are incised, the latter two filled in, as
usual, with black dirt. The drag line is of sinew braid and has an
ivory cylinder slipped over it.
[Illustration: FIG. 405.--White whale carved from gypsum. 1/2]
No. 89328 [1167], from Utkiavwĭñ, is the poorest in design. It is 5.6
inches long and has the neck bent up as in dragging. The back of a
freshly caught seal is always somewhat flattened by dragging it over
the ice, and this flattening is very much exaggerated in this carving
by the natural shape of the bone. The fore flippers are in high
relief, with three toes to each flipper, colored round the edge with
red ocher. The tips of the hind flippers are joined together, and each
has only two toes. The eyes, genital opening, and the spots on the
back and belly are indicated by shallow round pits colored with red
ocher. The drag line is a double bit of sinew braid, which has on it
two ivory cylinders, one ornamented with an incised pattern.
We found but a single figure of the beluga, which is such a favorite
subject for Eskimo artists farther south. This is the gypsum carving
already mentioned (No. 89573 [1015], Fig. 405, from Nuwŭk). It is 3.5
inches long and is very characteristic, though rather short in
proportion to its girth. It was neatly carved with a knife.
The “bow-head” whale (Balæna mysticetus), is a very favorite subject,
appearing often as a decoration and represented by 21 carvings. Three
of these are of wood, very much resembling in design and execution the
harpoon boxes already described. They are all very old, and perhaps
were charms to be carried in the boat to secure good luck in whaling.
No. 89736 [857_b_], Fig. 406, from Utkiavwĭñ, is perhaps the best
proportioned of these figures, though the only details represented are
the flukes (which are broken), and the incised spiracles. It is 5.4
inches long and made of spruce or hemlock, stained almost black by
dirt, grease, and weathering. A long string of sinew braid is tied
round the “small.”
[Illustration: FIG. 406.--Wooden carving--whale. 1/2]
No. 89735 [1036] from Utkiavwĭñ, is also a rather well proportioned
figure, rude in execution, with no details carved out except the
flukes, one of which is broken. An angular bit of iron pyrites is
inlaid to represent the left eye, and a similar piece appears to have
been lost from the right eye. The anus is represented by a light blue
glass bead inlaid in the belly. It is 8.8 inches long and made of soft
wood, probably cottonwood, weathered and stained to a dark brown. It
is very old and much chipped and cracked. Two small oblique holes in
the middle of the back make a transverse channel for a string. This
specimen was said by the man who sold it to have been dug up among the
ruins of one of the old houses in the village.
No. 89734 [987] from Nuwŭk, is 12 inches long, very broad in
proportion to its length, and rather rude in design, with a flat
belly, though neatly carved and scraped smooth. The spiracles and the
outline of the mouth are incised and little angular bits of brown
quartz are inlaid for the eyes. Both flukes have been split off and
part of the right fluke has been fastened on again with a single
wooden treenail. It is of spruce or hemlock and has weathered to a
brown color.
[Illustration: FIG. 407.--Whale carved from soapstone.]
Fig. 407 (No. 89561 [1253] from Utkiavwĭñ) represents the best image
of a whale in the collection. It is very well proportioned, though
perhaps a little clumsy about the flukes, with the external details
correctly represented. It is 4.5 inches long, neatly carved from
soapstone, scraped smooth and oiled. It was made for sale. There are
five other round soapstone carvings of whales in the collection, but
none so good as this except a little one from Nuwŭk, (No. 89563 [986])
2 inches long, which is almost an exact miniature of the preceding.
This specimen is not new. Fig. 408 (No. 89557 [1267] from Utkiavwĭñ)
is a rude _flat_ representation of a whale seen from above. It is 5.2
inches long and roughly whittled out of the bottom of an old stone
pot. The flippers are large and clumsy, and the spiracles slightly
incised. The specimen appears to be old, as does a similar one from
Nuwŭk (No. 89559 [1188_a_]).
[Illustration: FIG. 408.--Rude flat image of whale.]
No. 89558 [1266] from Utkiavwĭñ, and No. 89572 from Nuwŭk, both flat
images, are carelessly made for sale. The latter is simply a
representation in soapstone of the conventional “whale’s tail” with
the “small” cut off to an angular point. No. 89325 [1160] from
Utkiavwĭñ is a clumsy, broad whale with a flat belly, 4.1 inches long,
freshly carved from whale’s bone, and soaked in oil to make it look
old. The eyes, spiracles, and outline of the mouth are incised and
filled in with dark oil lees.
[Illustration: FIG. 409.--Ivory image of whale.]
None of the ivory carvings of whales have any special artistic merit.
Fig. 409 (No. 89323 [1024_a_] from Nuwŭk) is the best of these. It is
a little better in design and execution than the preceding, which it
resembles considerably. It is the female of a pair of little whales
made of old brown walrus ivory, which is much cracked. The male
differs from the female only in the shape of the external sexual
organs, the male having a little round pit and the female a long
sulcus. This, as well as the eyes, spiracles, and outline of the
mouth, is incised and filled in with dark colored dirt. The female is
3.1 inches long, the male (No. 89324 [1024_b_]) 0.1 inch longer. These
specimens appear to be quite ancient.
[Illustration: FIG. 410.--Ivory image of whale.]
Fig. 410 (No. 89326 [1086] from Nuwŭk) is very long and slender--4.3
inches long and only 0.7 inch wide--with the belly perfectly flat, but
otherwise a very good representation, neatly carved. The flukes in
particular are especially well done, and the flippers are in high
relief. The eyes, the spiracles, and the outline of the mouth are
incised and the first blackened. The material is a rather poor quality
of walrus ivory, about half “core.” The specimen was made for sale.
No. 89327 [991] from Nuwŭk was also made for sale. It is a little
whale 1.6 inches long, rudely carved in walrus ivory.
[Illustration: FIG. 411.--Pair of little ivory whales.]
Fig. 411 (No. 56619 [66] from Utkiavwĭñ) represents a pair of little
whales, each carved from a walrus tooth, which probably served for
buttons or toggles of some sort, though I do not recollect ever seeing
such objects in use. The belly of each is flat and has in the middle a
stout lug perforated with a transverse eye, and they are tied together
by a piece of thong about 14 inches long. They are quite well designed
and executed, but rather “stumpy” in outline, with the outline of the
mouth and the spiracles incised and blackened, and little round bits
of tooth inlaid for eyes. In the middle of the back of each was inlaid
a small blue glass bead, which still remains in one of them. They are
old and dirty and somewhat chipped about the flukes.
[Illustration: FIG. 412.--Soapstone image of imaginary animal.]
[Illustration: FIG. 413.--Ivory carving, seal with fish’s head.]
Fig. 412 (No. 89567 [904] from Nuwŭk) represents an imaginary
quadruped 2.5 inches long, with a short, thick body and legs, no neck,
and a human head, with the eyes and mouth incised. It is roughly
carved from light gray soapstone, and ground pretty smooth. This
figure is not new, and has probably connected with it some story which
we did not succeed in learning. The seller called it an “old man.” No.
89332 [994] from Nuwŭk, is a fanciful monster, 4.2 inches long, carved
in ivory. It has a human head with the tusks of a walrus, the body,
tail, and flippers of a seal, with human arms. The hands, each of
which has four fingers, clasp some round object against the belly. It
is not old, but apparently was not made for the market. It was called
a “walrus man;” but we did not learn whether it was simply a fancy
figure or whether there was any story connected with it.
Fig. 413 (No. 89329 [1101] from Nuwŭk) is another monster, 3.9 inches
long, carved in ivory. It has a fish’s head with large canine teeth,
and a seal’s body, tail, and hind flippers. The eyes, nostrils, gill
slits, the outlines of the tail, and the toes, of which there are six
on each flipper, are incised and blackened. A row of nineteen small
round pits, filled with dark colored dirt runs nearly straight from
the nape to the tail.
[Illustration: FIG. 414.--Ivory carving, ten-legged bear.]
Fig. 414 (No. 89339 [1099] from Nuwŭk) is a newly made ivory figure,
which is interesting from its resemblance to one of the fabulous
animals which figure in the Greenland legends. It is 4 inches long and
represents a long-necked bear with ten legs, an animal which the maker
gave us to understand had once been seen at Point Barrow. The
resemblance of this animal to the “kiliopak” or “kilifvak” of the
Greenland stories, which is described as “an animal with six or even
ten feet”[N518] is quite striking.
[Footnote N518: Rink, Tales, etc., p. 48. See also same work,
passim, among the stories.]
[Illustration: FIG. 415.--Ivory carving, giant holding whales.]
Fig. 415 (No. 89723 [1084] from Nuwŭk) is another representation of
the giant who holds a whale in each hand. He was called in this
instance “Kaióasu,” and not “Kikámigo.” This image is carved from very
old pale brown walrus ivory, and is 2.3 inches high. A transverse
incised line across each cheek from the wing of the nose, indicates
the whaleman’s tattoo mark of the Eastern fashion. The image is
ancient, but is mounted in a socket in the middle of a newly made
wooden stand, which has a broad border of red ocher and a broad streak
of the same paint along each diameter.
Fig. 416 (No. 89336 [1369]) is a curious piece of carving, which
Nĭkawdalu said he found in one of the ruined houses on the river
Kulugrua. The carving is well executed and really seems to be old,
although it has evidently been retouched in a good many places. It is
made from an irregularly flattened bit of reindeer antler, 3.6 inches
long, blackened by the weather on the flat surfaces, and represents an
animal with four legs, which appear to be dog’s legs, and at each end
what appears to be a dog’s head. One of these is smaller than the
other and both have the ears in relief, and the eyes, nostrils, and
outlines of the mouth incised.
[Illustration: FIG. 416.--Double-headed animal, carved from antler.]
Fig. 417 (No. 56520 [85] from Nuwŭk) is a fanciful object made solely
for the market. It consists of the rudely carved head of some
carnivorous animal, made of ivory, and 2.6 inches long, fitted to the
broad end of a flat pointed wooden handle, painted red. The head was
called a “dog”, but it looks more like a bear. Small bits of wood are
inlaid for the eyes, and the outline of the mouth is deeply incised
and colored with red ocher, having bits of white ivory inlaid to
represent the canine teeth. The ears, nostrils, vibrissæ, and hairs on
the muzzle are indicated by blackened incisions. There is an
ornamented collar round the neck, to which is joined a conventional
pattern of triangular form on the throat, and a somewhat similar
pattern on the top of the head between the ears.
[Illustration: FIG. 417.--Ivory carving, dog.]
One of the natives at Utkiavwĭñ, in May, 1882, conceived the fancy of
smoothing off the tip of a walrus tusk into the shape of a pyramid,
surmounted by a little conical cap and ornamenting it with incised
figures, which he colored with red ocher. It appears to have been
purely an individual fancy, as it has no utility, nor are such objects
made by the Eskimo elsewhere, as far as I know. Having succeeded in
finding a sale for this object, either he or one of his friends, I do
not now recollect which, made another, which was brought over for sale
about ten days later. We saw no others afterwards.
[Illustration: FIG. 418.--Engraved ivory: (_a_) piece engraved with
figures; (_b_) development of pattern.]
[Illustration: FIG. 419.--Engraved ivory: (_a_) piece with
engraving; (_b_) development of pattern.]
Fig. 418_a_ (pattern developed in Fig. 418_b_, No. 56530 [220])
represents the first of these. It is made of solid white walrus ivory.
The workmanship is quite rude, and the cap has been broken off and
neatly fastened on with a wooden dowel. The other, Fig. 419_a_, 419_b_
(No. 56529 [254]) is 3.7 inches long.
[Illustration: FIG. 420.--Ivory doll.]
Fig. 420 (No. 89741 [1012] from Nuwŭk) is an ivory cross 15.5 inches
long. The cross is ornamented by incised rings and dots colored with
red ocher. The shaft of the cross is surmounted by a female human head
neatly carved from soapstone, fastened on by a lashing of sinew braid,
which passes through a transverse hole in the head and round the
crosspiece. No. 89742 [1091], also from Nuwŭk, closely resembles the
preceding, but is slightly shorter and has a four-sided shaft. The
head, moreover, which is made of bone, represents a man, as is shown
by the little pits, which indicate the labrets. The cheeks and crown
of the head are colored slightly red with red ocher.
The ingenious Yöksa, so often mentioned, made the first image and
brought it down for sale. All he could or would tell us about it was
that it was “tună´ktûp kuni´a,” “A kuni´a (jargon for woman) of
soapstone.” The successful sale of this first cross encouraged him to
make the second, but we saw no others before or after. Other natives
who saw these objects only laughed. The whole may be simply a fanciful
doll, perhaps meant for a caricature, the shaft representing the body,
and the crosspiece the outstretched arms. The object is very
suggestive of a crucifix, and there is a bare possibility that the
maker may have seen something of the sort in the possession of some of
the eastern natives who have been visited by a missionary of the Roman
Catholic Church (Father Petitot).
Under the head of works of art may properly be included No. 89823
[1130], from Utkiavwĭñ. This is the skeleton of the jaws of a polar
bear, cut off just back of the nose, neatly sewed up in a piece of
sealskin with the hair out, so as to leave uncovered only the tips of
the jawbones and the canine teeth. This specimen was put up by the
same quick-witted young native after his removal from Nuwŭk to
Utkiavwĭñ, evidently in imitation of the work of preparing specimens
of natural history, which he had seen done at the station. For the
same reason he dried and carefully preserved in a little box whittled
out of a block of wood and tied up with sinew a little fresh-water
sculpin (Cottus quadricornis), which he had caught at Kulugrua
(No. 89536 [1145]).
I regret much that we did not save and bring home any of the pencil
drawings made by these people. The children especially were anxious to
get lead pencils, and made themselves rather a nuisance by covering
the painted walls of the observatory with scrawls of ships and various
other objects, perhaps rather more accurately done than they would
have been by white children of the same age. The style of the figures
on the hunting scores already described, however, is very like that of
the pencil drawings.[N519]
[Footnote N519: Compare these with Nordenskiöld’s figures of
“Chukch” drawings, Vega, vol. 2, pp. 132, 133. The latter are
completely Eskimo in character.]