Eskimo Carving

Eskimo carving is now recognised as one of the great artistic traditions of the world. The unique quality of the sculptures and decorative work in walrus ivory, stone and bone, which remains remarkably consistent through some two hundred centuries and across the great Arctic wastes, reflect the character and strength of the Eskimo hunting bands who inhabit what must be surely one of the most inhospitable environments in the world.This book traces the emergence of western Eskimo Art in the work of the Okvik sculptors of Alaska and discusses the northern Ipuitak who concentrated upn fantastic death cult carvings. The second part of the book concentrates upon the wooden masks and figurines of the Greenland Eskimo and the decorated shaman's gear and hunting equipment produced by the later Alaskan hunters, which includes many small ivories and which features pictorial hunting and social scenes. It concludes with an assessment of modern Eskimo art.