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Parka

Edna Oktokiyuk Yupik

ca. 1910

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 746

A Native woman in Alaska used dried seal intestines to make this garment, and its beauty and functionality honors the creature’s soul. The beaks and feathers of the auklet, a small seabird, appear at regular intervals along the seams and provide a striking contrast to the parchment-like surface; fur trims the hem and cuffs. Hunters wore coats such as this over fur parkas for protection against the wind and snow.

Parka, Edna Oktokiyuk (Yupik), Marine mammal intestine, auklet beaks and feathers, tanned leather, and seal fur, Yupik, Native American — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Parka, Edna Oktokiyuk (Yupik), Marine mammal intestine, auklet beaks and feathers, tanned leather, and seal fur, Yupik, Native American

Parka, Edna Oktokiyuk (Yupik), Marine mammal intestine, auklet beaks and feathers, tanned leather, and seal fur, Yupik, Native American

Parka, Edna Oktokiyuk (Yupik), Marine mammal intestine, auklet beaks and feathers, tanned leather, and seal fur, Yupik, Native American

Parka, Edna Oktokiyuk (Yupik), Marine mammal intestine, auklet beaks and feathers, tanned leather, and seal fur, Yupik, Native American

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This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Parka

Artist: Edna Oktokiyuk (Yupik)

Date: ca. 1910

Geography: Made in St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, United States

Culture: Yupik, Native American

Medium: Marine mammal intestine, auklet beaks and feathers, tanned leather, and seal fur

Dimensions: 44 × 61 in. (111.8 × 154.9 cm)

Credit Line: Loan from the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection

Object Number: L.2018.35.29

The Met

The American Wing at The Met

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works by African American, Euro American, Native American, and Latin American artists, ranging from the colonial to early-modern period.