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ProvenanceAdam Hollis Twitchell, Bethel, Alaska; Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (9/3399), New York City, 1919; Julius Carlebach, New York City, 1946; James Economos, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ron Nasser, New York City; Andre Nasser, New York City
BibliographyFurst, Peter and Jill Furst. Native American Indian Art. New York: Rizzoli, 1982, p.153, fig.139, Private Collection.
Fienup-Riordan, Ann. The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996, p.253.
Rousselot, Jean-Loup, Bernard Abel, Jose Pierre and Catherine Bihl. Masques Eskimo d'Alaska. Switzerland: Editions Amez, 1991, p.38 [line drawing].
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.436.
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. 485.
Culture
Central Yup'ik
Isanuk, the Walrus Spirit (Asveq)
Datec. 1900
DimensionsOverall: 14 3/4 × 6 × 7 1/2 in. (37.5 × 15.2 × 19.1 cm)
Object numberT0233
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThis mask is carved in the shape of a seal seen from above with its head facing downward with four flippers protruding from the sides, and a spirit face across the back in rhomboid rather than customary circular relief. The face on the back of this mask may well be that of "the walrus spirit Isanuk, the spirit that drives the walrus, sea lions, and seals toward the shore, so that the hunter can get them." The two hoops on the outside of the mask represent the universe, or cosmos, in its natural and supernatural dimensions. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)ProvenanceAdam Hollis Twitchell, Bethel, Alaska; Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (9/3399), New York City, 1919; Julius Carlebach, New York City, 1946; James Economos, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ron Nasser, New York City; Andre Nasser, New York City
BibliographyFurst, Peter and Jill Furst. Native American Indian Art. New York: Rizzoli, 1982, p.153, fig.139, Private Collection.
Fienup-Riordan, Ann. The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996, p.253.
Rousselot, Jean-Loup, Bernard Abel, Jose Pierre and Catherine Bihl. Masques Eskimo d'Alaska. Switzerland: Editions Amez, 1991, p.38 [line drawing].
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.436.
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. 485.
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