Polar bear effigy

Unrecorded Ipiutak artist Native American

ca. 100–600

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

The bear’s power and might are expressed by its bared teeth, flattened ears, and massive body. According to modern Iñupiat people, miniature animals live within powerful land and sea spirits who journey to the human world, where they allow themselves to be hunted. Humans honor and summon these spirits with amulets carved in their likenesses. This ancient effigy, perhaps once part of a shaman’s paraphernalia, may have served those purposes.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Polar bear effigy
Artist: Unrecorded Ipiutak artist
Date: ca. 100–600
Geography: United States, Seward Peninsula, Point Spencer area, Alaska
Culture: Ipiutak
Medium: Ivory
Dimensions: H. 1 3/4 × W. 4 5/8 × D. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 × 11.7 × 4.4 cm)
Classification: Bone/Ivory
Credit Line: Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY (T0225)
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing