Lot 64
UNIDENTIFIED MAKERS
Additional Images
Provenance:
Various sources including Olanna family, Brevig Mission, AK; Native Hospital Gift Shop, Anchorage, AK;
Various sources including Glen W. Adams, Alene Weyiouanna, and Inez Tocktoo, Brevig Mission, AK; Native Hospital Gift Shop, Anchorage, AK;
Acquired by the consignor from the above
Note:
Two swayback faceted whalebone handles, each with notch at proximal end, visible remnant of whalebone dowels, individually inscribed with collector's inventory numbers; four lanceolate bolas comprised of whalebone, individually inscribed with collector's inventory numbers.
An implement with a long history throughout the Arctic, in the Bering Sea region the qilaut or hoop drum has often been central to lively celebration among the Inupiat and neighbouring Yupik. Closely associated with communal gatherings, and often used in playful light-hearted dance, it can also be subject to great seriousness, for qilaut means literally "that by means of which the spirits are called up," and spirits in the Inupiat cosmology are not always benign. [1]
(1) Laugrand, Frédéric, and J. G. Oosten, Inuit Shamanism and Christianity, Transitions and Transformations in the Twentieth Century, [Quoting Rasmussen (1929, 288-9)], (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010), 10.
Related Works:
Paul and Mary Thiry, Eskimo Artifacts Designed for Use, (Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, 1977), 223, 253.
Fitzhugh, William W. and Susan A. Kaplan, Inua, (Washington: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1982), 75, pl. 52.
Many countries prohibit or restrict importation or exportation of property containing ivory, whale bone, sealskin, and/or products derived from other endangered or protected species, and require special licenses or permits in order to import or export such property. It is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that the item is properly and lawfully exported / imported. Please do not hesitate to contact one of our specialists for further details.