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Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
Substance of the Stars, Heard Museum, Pheonix, AZ, October 23, 2022 - April 23, 2024
ProvenanceCollected by Edward W. Nelson for the U.S. National Museum (#64244) (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (2/445), New York City, 1908; Edward Primus, Hollywood California; Nelson Rockefeller, New York City; Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York City; Aaron Furman, New York City; Andre Nasser, New York City
BibliographyFurst, Peter T. and Jill L. Furst. Native American Indian Art. New York: Rizzoli, 1982, p.152, fig.137, Private Collection, caption notes "Napaskiagmut Eskimo, Kuskokwin River."
Rousselot, Jean Loup, Bernard Abel, Jose Pierre and Catherine Bihl. Masques Eskimo d'Alaska. Switzerland: Edition Amez, 1991, p.119. (Incorrectly identified as Walrus Mask from Napaskiak as well as having been collected by Twitchell).
Parke-Bernet. Sale 2559, 4 May 1967, p.84, lot 133.
Zimmerman, Larry J. Native North America. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1996, p.131.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.435.
Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 160-161.
Berlo, Janet, and Ruth Phillips. “Native North American Art.” 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press 2015. First edition 1988. p. 192, fig. 5.20.
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. 484.
Culture
Central Yup'ik
Mask
Datec. 1850
DimensionsOverall: 21 1/2 × 30 in. (54.6 × 76.2 cm)
Overall (Without hoops): 8 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 9 1/4 in. (21.6 × 11.4 × 23.5 cm)
Object numberT0600
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThe raven is of great importance in the spiritual beliefs of the Yup’ik people. Raven created the means for man to interact with nature and enabled him to prosper by providing food and teaching him to hunt. The raven is also a culture-hero trickster and a notorious shape shifter. The multiple wooden rings that encircle the mask signify the different levels of the universe.Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
Substance of the Stars, Heard Museum, Pheonix, AZ, October 23, 2022 - April 23, 2024
ProvenanceCollected by Edward W. Nelson for the U.S. National Museum (#64244) (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (2/445), New York City, 1908; Edward Primus, Hollywood California; Nelson Rockefeller, New York City; Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York City; Aaron Furman, New York City; Andre Nasser, New York City
BibliographyFurst, Peter T. and Jill L. Furst. Native American Indian Art. New York: Rizzoli, 1982, p.152, fig.137, Private Collection, caption notes "Napaskiagmut Eskimo, Kuskokwin River."
Rousselot, Jean Loup, Bernard Abel, Jose Pierre and Catherine Bihl. Masques Eskimo d'Alaska. Switzerland: Edition Amez, 1991, p.119. (Incorrectly identified as Walrus Mask from Napaskiak as well as having been collected by Twitchell).
Parke-Bernet. Sale 2559, 4 May 1967, p.84, lot 133.
Zimmerman, Larry J. Native North America. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1996, p.131.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.435.
Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 160-161.
Berlo, Janet, and Ruth Phillips. “Native North American Art.” 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press 2015. First edition 1988. p. 192, fig. 5.20.
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. 484.
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