E0669: Inuit- Figurine, Polar Bear

Ethnographic

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Identifier:

E0669

Classification Category:

8:Communication Artifacts ➞ Art/Folk Art

Materials:

animal ➔ ivory

Dimensions:

5.9 cm L
1.4 cm W
2 cm H

Use/Function:

"The Inuit carried with them small charms or fetishes. Their exact purpose is still unknown to some degree. Many of the Inuit informants hold that they were used as good luck charms for hunting and protection against illness and injury. Others say they may also have been used as game pieces, objects used to illustrate legends, history, religious beliefs or used in shamanic rituals. Here we see a variety of marine animals carved from ivory that functioned in this manner, as charms or fetishes."- All the Small Things Exhibit.

Source Locality:

Brevig Mission, Alaska, USA

Acquisition Date:

1894 – 1917

Description:

Inuit polar bear figure made of ivory. Donated by Rev. T.L. Brevig in 1898.

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