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An almost exact duplicate of this toggle is in the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, at the Sainsbury Center for Visual Arts. Not only is it by the same carver, it is probably part of the same pair. The concentric spurred circle dot engravings on the back and sides hark to Old Bering Sea or Punuk prehistoric design from roughly the same area.
Another toggle, also in the form of a transforming human, its hindquarters subsuming into a pulling ring into which an otter tail of a flipper in ivory is attached, is related in concept with the aforementioned ivories. This related toggle is not by the same carver and lacks the artistic strength of the Thaw and University of East Anglia ivories.
The type of human animal transformation is still current among contemporary Central Yup'ik carvers. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceBonham's, London, England, Oct. 10, 1991; Taylor A. Dale, Santa Fe, New Mexico; James Economos, Santa Fe, New Mexico; George Shaw, Aspen, Colorado
BibliographyBonham's. October 10, 1991, lot 1.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.88.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.437.
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. 483.
Culture
Central Yup'ik
Toggle
Datec. 1850
MediumIvory
DimensionsOverall: 2 1/2 × 1 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (6.4 × 3.8 × 11.4 cm)
Object numberT0236
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThis fine ivory carving is a toggle, which is a tool used to pull sleds or dead animals: seals, walrus, or polar bears. Toggles also could have been used to affix a hunting charm to a kayak, especially if the hunt was for polar bears. It was an indispensable part of a hunter's equipment, at once a tool and power charm, and its image, in this case a man transforming into a bear, aided a hunter in his quest.An almost exact duplicate of this toggle is in the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, at the Sainsbury Center for Visual Arts. Not only is it by the same carver, it is probably part of the same pair. The concentric spurred circle dot engravings on the back and sides hark to Old Bering Sea or Punuk prehistoric design from roughly the same area.
Another toggle, also in the form of a transforming human, its hindquarters subsuming into a pulling ring into which an otter tail of a flipper in ivory is attached, is related in concept with the aforementioned ivories. This related toggle is not by the same carver and lacks the artistic strength of the Thaw and University of East Anglia ivories.
The type of human animal transformation is still current among contemporary Central Yup'ik carvers. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceBonham's, London, England, Oct. 10, 1991; Taylor A. Dale, Santa Fe, New Mexico; James Economos, Santa Fe, New Mexico; George Shaw, Aspen, Colorado
BibliographyBonham's. October 10, 1991, lot 1.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.88.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.437.
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. 483.
On View
On view
