CARVINGS. 



397 



FIG. 390. Ivory carviuy;, tliree liiiinan heads. 



woman on each side, joined to- 



be freshly ma&amp;lt;le. This figure is even ruder in design than those from 

 Siberia figured by Nordenskiiild. 1 



The best of our human figures from Point Barrow show much greater 

 art, both in workmanship and design, than those just mentioned, but 

 can not compare with the elegant 

 figures in the museum from the 

 more southern parts of Alaska. 

 The four remaining ivory carvings 

 represent the human face alone. 

 Xo. 89342 [989J, Fig. 390, from 

 Nuwftk, is a thick piece of walrus 

 ivory 3-3 inches long and 1-fi 

 wide, earved into three human 

 faces, a man in the middle and 

 gether at the side of the head. Though the workmanship is rough, 

 the faces are characteristic. The man has labrets and a curved line of 

 tattooing at each corner of the mouth, indicating the successful whale 

 man, and the women, the usual tattooing on the chin. The eyes, nos 

 trils, mouths, labrets, and tattooing are incised and blackened as usual. 

 This specimen, though apparently modern, does not seem fresh enough 

 to have been made for sale. The seller called it &quot;a man and his two 

 wives&quot; without giving them any names. It may be intended as a por 

 trait of some celebrated whaleman. 



Fig. 397 is one of a pair of very rude faces (No. 50523 [52] from I t- 

 kiavwin), li inches long, which were made for sale. It is simply a wal 

 rus-tooth cut off square on the ends and on one side rudely carved into 

 a face, with the eyes and mouth incised and filled in 

 with dark colored dirt. Fig. 398 (No. 89343 [1124J from 

 Xuwiik) is a flat piece of ivory (a bit of an old snow 

 shovel edge), 4 inches long and 1-2 inches wide, roughly 

 carved and covered with incised figures. The upper 

 edge is carved into five heads: First, a rude bear s 

 ^^^^^^ head, with the eyes and nostrils incised and blackened 

 If as usual ; then four human heads, with a face on each 

 side. The front faces have the noses and brows in low 

 i relief and the eyes, nostrils, and mouths incised and 

 blackened; the back ones are flat, with the last tliree 



Fio. M7.-Human . ,. , . 



head carved from features indicated as before. At the end is a rude flg- 

 a ah us tooti,. ure O f a bear, heading toward the right, with the ears 

 in relief, the eyes and mouth roughly incised and blackened, and 

 the legs indicated by roughly incised and blackened lines on the ob 

 verse face. Both faces are covered with rudely incised and blackened 

 lines. 



On the obverse there is a single vertical line between each pair ot 

 heads. Below the bear s head is a bear heading toward the right; 



Vega, vol. 2, p. 127. 



