Saturday, March 1, 2014

My treasures... so far.

Doll from Brevig Mission, purchased in Nome. 

Hoodie from new school! Qughsatkut (Which I am working on being able to say!) is King Polar Bear in Yu'pik



Polar Bear claw, from a "small" 7-8ft polar bear. Baleen and Ivory.

Walrus: Ivory (Walrus tusk), Walrus whiskers for the tusks, fossilized bone for the bottom


Walrus Friends! The one on the left is Eric's. Mine is a little bigger. They are both by the same artist.

Seal Hunter doll. By master doll maker Stephanie Oittillian

"Beautiful Eskimo Dolls made from a variety of native materials by Beulah Oittillian, her Granddaughter Stephanie and Maxine Ungott of Gambell, Alaska, Yup'ik Eskimo village of about 700 people on St. Lawrence Island; just south of the Bering Straits. The Yup'ik people have occupied the Bering Straits for thousands of years.
Beulah, Stephanie and Maxine are master Yup'ik doll makers. Beulah’s work is featured in a book titled “Ivory Carvers of St. Lawrence Island” by Dale Kessler. Each doll is unique and one of a kind. They have maintained their uniqueness because of the isolated nature of the island. The dolls are made from a wide variety of native materials. The face, hands are ivory from the tusk of a walrus. The eyes are inlaid baleen. The parkas are traditional walrus gut and gray-silver spotted fur seal. The trousers and mukluks are also spotted fur seal. They are generally mounted on an old walrus vertebrate or whale "ooziva". There are several Beulah dolls in the Smithsonian. She doesn't make many dolls anymore as she has lost some of her eyesight. 




Yu'pik Ice Fishing Doll




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