618 W. Thalbitzer 



in the western regions outside Greenland, on the right side is seen 

 a bird and on the empty place below has been a relief of a similar 

 shape as the animal to the left but with a large upward bent tail 

 (seen from the impression on the w^od where the relief has been); 

 below the man on each side of the house (?) are two boats and a 

 whale (the whole picture possibly means an angakoq surrounded 

 by his auxiliary spirits?). 



Within the East Eskimo regions this kind of ornamentation is 

 only known among the Ammassalikers of East Greenland; neither 

 from the west coast nor from the southern part of the east coast do 

 we know of any example of ivory reliefs^). G. Holm was the first 

 to give information about this art. Rink, who was the first to give 

 (in Geografisk Tidsskrift) a summary and valuation of the collection 

 brought home, expressed his admiration for the unique artistic taste 

 displayed in the domestic industry of this most isolated group of 

 people in this country. "We hardly find examples of such artistic 

 taste before reaching the Bering Straits."^) He compares this branch 

 of art with the Western Eskimo's ornamental engravings in ivory 

 and wood; only few and primitive specimens of this art have been 

 found within the regions of the East Eskimo. It lias been discovered 

 later, that the Alaskan Eskimo in certain regions also adorned var- 

 ious implements with ivory reliefs representing animals, especially 

 their hunting helmets, which as already mentioned correspond to 

 the ornamented eye-shades of the Ammassalikers'^). It is still an 

 open question, whether there is a continuity between the relief orna- 

 mentation of these two places lying far from each other. This can 

 hardly be doubted however. The reliefs of the Alaskan Eskimo like 

 those of the Ammassalikers are convex in the upper part but flat 

 on the under side, often haut-reliefs approaching the shape of bas- 



1) It might be supposed that Graah had seen or even brought home with him 

 ivory reliefs from the East Greenlanders, but as far as I know there is no sign of 

 this either in his book or in the collection. The only passage in his book giving 

 evidence of the East Greenlander's interest in ornamental art is the following, 

 where Graah describes Kamik's house near Ikatamiut (63° 31'*N. lat. on the east 

 coast): "K. acted as a hospitable host and invited me to his house where 1 

 found the walls hung with numbers of pictures carved in black skin and re- 

 presenting seals, walrus, bears and Greenlanders, and I even found a representa- 

 tion of myself in this group of voracious animals. AH the carvings had been 

 executed by his children etc." Graah (1832) pp. 135 — 136. 



^) Rink stated for example that a throwing stick from Ammassalik had 57 ivory 

 reliefs on a surface of 290 cm.'-, a wooden cup 116 on 176 cm.- and a small box 

 96 on 55cm.2. Hink (1886 p. 141. 



3) Nelson (1899) pp. 168 — 169 and fig. 45, PI. LXIV, 18, 22. Several references in 

 Holm's report in this book p. 124. Cf. Stolpe 11896) p. 13; Hoffman tl897) PL 

 53—54; Woldt-Jacobsen (1887) p. 195 (fig. 2). 



