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At the time the Thaw mask was made, Ingaliks had three types of masks. Small forehead masks were worn by messengers and heralders of feasts and dances. Finger masks made on the Eskimo model were held by women only when they dance with the men. The important and large serious masks, often twenty inches high or more, covered the face completely and were danced by men only, chiefly at a main ceremony, the great masked dance. Some large masks represented mythological women; others dealt with legendary heroes and hunters, dramatizing their exploits. This is the mask type connected most closely with the powerful Yup'ik masks downriver. The serious masks were heavy and large enough to require a wooden cross piece as a teeth grip. To offset the dream-like, mythic character of the large masks, the smaller humorous masks were danced between the appearance of the serious ones.
The Thaw Ingalik mask is an excellent example of a humorous mask. These are often unsophisticated caricatures of Ingalik; in poking fun at themselves, there was obtained a measure of comic relief for dancers and audience alike.
The Ingalik humorous mask in the Thaw Collection seems to have been modeled in part on a type of lower Yukon Yup'ik masks that often has been called Tunghat. It has the same lopsided face, twisted mouth and nose, and an eye that "winks." But the Ingalik mask is quite different in effect. The paint is cruder and the Eskimo forms deliberately misunderstood. The theatrical eyelashes upswept and misplaced onto the brows and the rough carving style denote Ingalik humor. In its buffoonery the Thaw mask fits well with the Ingalik humorous mask classification. Yup'ik masks sometimes mimicked the upriver Athapaskans; here it is the other way around. The Ingalik are doing the mimicry, evidently enjoying themselves at Yup'ik expense. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
ProvenanceMuseum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (10/8070), New York City; Donald B. Cordry, Oaxaca, Mexico; private collection, Canada
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.408.
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. 458.
Culture
Ingalik
Mask
Datec. 1910
DimensionsOverall: 8 1/4 × 5 × 2 5/8 in. (21 × 12.7 × 6.7 cm)
Object numberT0230
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThe Athapaskan Ingalik of Anvik and Kozherevsky on the Yukon River, and Hologochaket on the Inoko River traded with the Yup'ik (Alaskan Eskimo) farther down the Yukon River, particularly at the Yup'ik towns of Andreavsky and adjoining St. Mary's, the later mission station. In the process, they adopted into their culture important aspects of Eskimo social and ceremonial life. From a social point of view they changed from the Athapaskan matrilineal clan system to the Yup'ik form of bi-lateral family descent. From Yup'ik ceremonialism they adopted the kashim or men's hall, with its masking, dances, and feasting. Yup'ik and Ingalik masks are often so similar that only a practiced eye can tell them apart.At the time the Thaw mask was made, Ingaliks had three types of masks. Small forehead masks were worn by messengers and heralders of feasts and dances. Finger masks made on the Eskimo model were held by women only when they dance with the men. The important and large serious masks, often twenty inches high or more, covered the face completely and were danced by men only, chiefly at a main ceremony, the great masked dance. Some large masks represented mythological women; others dealt with legendary heroes and hunters, dramatizing their exploits. This is the mask type connected most closely with the powerful Yup'ik masks downriver. The serious masks were heavy and large enough to require a wooden cross piece as a teeth grip. To offset the dream-like, mythic character of the large masks, the smaller humorous masks were danced between the appearance of the serious ones.
The Thaw Ingalik mask is an excellent example of a humorous mask. These are often unsophisticated caricatures of Ingalik; in poking fun at themselves, there was obtained a measure of comic relief for dancers and audience alike.
The Ingalik humorous mask in the Thaw Collection seems to have been modeled in part on a type of lower Yukon Yup'ik masks that often has been called Tunghat. It has the same lopsided face, twisted mouth and nose, and an eye that "winks." But the Ingalik mask is quite different in effect. The paint is cruder and the Eskimo forms deliberately misunderstood. The theatrical eyelashes upswept and misplaced onto the brows and the rough carving style denote Ingalik humor. In its buffoonery the Thaw mask fits well with the Ingalik humorous mask classification. Yup'ik masks sometimes mimicked the upriver Athapaskans; here it is the other way around. The Ingalik are doing the mimicry, evidently enjoying themselves at Yup'ik expense. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
ProvenanceMuseum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (10/8070), New York City; Donald B. Cordry, Oaxaca, Mexico; private collection, Canada
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.408.
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. 458.
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