Walrus Tusk Ivory engraved with pictures of everyday activities
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Object Label
These two engraved objects, a walrus tusk and a sperm whale tooth, encapsulate aspects of Indigenous Arctic life, particularly the use of natural materials and the importance of hunting. The tusk is decorated with depictions of men hunting walrus in boats, of village huts, and of women preparing food. The tooth presents a variety of hunting scenes in which men chase a walrus, harpoon a whale, spear a bear, and aim bows and arrows at a caribou. One especially intriguing scene shows three men dancing and holding circular drums.
Caption
Iñupiaq. Walrus Tusk Ivory engraved with pictures of everyday activities, 19th century. Walrus Tusk Ivory, 27 3/4 x 2 x 3 1/4 in. (70.5 x 5.1 x 8.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, A. Augustus Healy Fund, 44.34.3. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Walrus Tusk Ivory engraved with pictures of everyday activities
Date
19th century
Geography
Place made: Point Barrow, Alaska, United States
Medium
Walrus Tusk Ivory
Classification
Dimensions
27 3/4 x 2 x 3 1/4 in. (70.5 x 5.1 x 8.3 cm)
Credit Line
A. Augustus Healy Fund
Accession Number
44.34.3
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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