Lot 345
Peter John Seeganna (1938-1974)
Additional Images
Note:
Following contact with the missionaries, masked dancing of the King Islanders saw a decline or was practiced in secrecy. One such ceremony dance has the participants perform an invitational dance that features walrus vocalizations as a component of rhythm for the chorus. Here the artist depicts two of the dancers in traditional ceremonial masks, on the left a female shaman and the right a walrus mask.
Alaska Native Art: Tradition, Innovation, Continuity, Susan W. Fair, 2006, p. 159, pl. 185
For a similar piece, see cat. no. 25/9855, National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC)