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ProvenanceMillicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico; Larry Frank, Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico
BibliographyWardwell, Allen. Ancient Eskimo Ivories of the Bering Strait. New York: Hudson Hills, 1986, p. 70, fig. 70.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.424.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 469.
Polar Bear Figure
Date100-300
MediumWalrus ivory
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/8 × 3/4 × 5 7/8 in. (3.5 × 1.9 × 14.9 cm)
Object numberT0590
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextHunters carried small figures like this bear during the hunt to receive aid from the game spirits. The elongated body of the bear has little detail except for its eye markings. Its legs are solid masses with no joints or paws. The carver’s interests seemed to lie in creating a smoothly finished, yet powerful, bear.ProvenanceMillicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico; Larry Frank, Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico
BibliographyWardwell, Allen. Ancient Eskimo Ivories of the Bering Strait. New York: Hudson Hills, 1986, p. 70, fig. 70.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.424.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 469.
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