Additional Images

Provenance:

Emma Olanna, Shishmaref, AK; Native Hospital Gift Shop, Anchorage, AK;
Acquired by the consignor from the above

Note:

This early adze is notable for its haft embellished with a design of chevrons and small spurs. While a motif recurrent in many variations throughout Paleo and historic Arctic imagery, the design’s presence outside of the region south of Norton Sound fell largely out of use following the spread of Thule culture ca. 1000 CE. [1] The motif has been said to represent the skeleton of an animal, imagery often present in a shamanic context in the Western Arctic and Northwest Coast of North America.

(1) Fitzhugh, William W. and Susan A. Kaplan, Inua, (Washington: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1982), 249.

Please note that this lot is an amalgam of components from various sites.

Related Works:
Miles, Charles, Indian and Eskimo Artifacts of North America, (New York: Bonanza books, 1963), 80, pl. 3.39-3.40.
National Museum of the American Indian, catalog no. 10-1808. Click here to read more

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