Skip to main content
Exhibition History"Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of the Bering Strait," Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, September 29, 2009 - January 6, 2010.
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, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
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.
ProvenanceJeffrey R. Meyers, New York City; Ron Nasser, New York City
BibliographyWardwell, Allen. "Prehistoric Eskimo Ivories. New York: Daedalus Ancient Art. 1992, p. 107, fig. 18.
Penney, David W. and George C. Longfish. Native American Art. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1994, p.245.
Vincent, Gilbert T. "The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art." The Magazine Antiques. Vol CXLVIII, no. 1, (July 1995): p.65, pl.VI.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.87.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.424.
Grambo, Rebecca L. Bear: A Celebration of Power and Beauty. Burlington, Vermont: Verve, 2000, pp.30-31.
Fitzhugh, William W. and Julie Hollowell and Aron L. Crowell, editors, Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait. New Jersey: Princeton University Art Museum and New Haven: Yale Universtiy Press, 2009. p.217 and 298.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 149.
Fognell, Eva. "Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection." American Indian Art Magazine 36, no. 4 (Autumn 2011): 76-85, p. 78, fig. 5.
Murdock, Michelle., ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art; the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 30.
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. 471.
Culture
Ipiutak
Polar Bear Effigy
DateA.D. 100-600
MediumWalrus ivory
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 × 4 5/8 in. (4.4 × 4.4 × 11.7 cm)
Object numberT0225
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThe bear’s power and might is embodied in its bared teeth, laid back ears and its massive body. Indicating the interior structure of an animal on the exterior surface is seen across the arctic area, but objects such as this are fairly rare. It may have been used for magical or religious purposes to summon the spirit of the powerful bear. Shamans used objects such as this to maintain order and equilibrium between the world of animals and humans or to gain access to the bear’s power.Exhibition History"Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of the Bering Strait," Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, September 29, 2009 - January 6, 2010.
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, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
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.
ProvenanceJeffrey R. Meyers, New York City; Ron Nasser, New York City
BibliographyWardwell, Allen. "Prehistoric Eskimo Ivories. New York: Daedalus Ancient Art. 1992, p. 107, fig. 18.
Penney, David W. and George C. Longfish. Native American Art. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1994, p.245.
Vincent, Gilbert T. "The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art." The Magazine Antiques. Vol CXLVIII, no. 1, (July 1995): p.65, pl.VI.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.87.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.424.
Grambo, Rebecca L. Bear: A Celebration of Power and Beauty. Burlington, Vermont: Verve, 2000, pp.30-31.
Fitzhugh, William W. and Julie Hollowell and Aron L. Crowell, editors, Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait. New Jersey: Princeton University Art Museum and New Haven: Yale Universtiy Press, 2009. p.217 and 298.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 149.
Fognell, Eva. "Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection." American Indian Art Magazine 36, no. 4 (Autumn 2011): 76-85, p. 78, fig. 5.
Murdock, Michelle., ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art; the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 30.
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. 471.
On View
On view
