Ethnographical collections from East Greenland. 619 



reliefs. The figures are generally longer and larger in Alaska than 

 in East Greenland and there are consequently quite few on each 

 object. As in East Greenland they often represent conventionalized 

 shapes of animals (seals, walrus, wolves, otter or birds) and geo- 

 metric patterns also occur. 



This old ornamental art with attached reliefs has reached over 

 to the northernmost Atlantic coasts on East Greenland. It has now 

 become extinct there together with the northern inhabitants of this 

 coast but has remained vigorous until our days as far south as the 

 fjords near Ammassalik and Sermilik. That it has occurred pre- 

 viously further north on the coast is proved by Ryder's discovery of 

 a seal or fish figure of ivory in Scoresby Sound and by Amdrup's 

 discovery still further north on Sabine Island (74° 45' N. lat.) of three 

 small figures with nail-holes, flat on the under side and intended for 

 attachment on the surface of an implement of wood^). 



Strangely enough no trace of this mode of ornamentation has 

 hitherto been found between Greenland and Alaska. 



Sculpture. — The Eskimo style and conventionality, displayed 

 in their ornamentation, is also apparent in the Ammassaliker's sculp- 

 tural carvings in bone (ivory) and wood. These objects not only re- 

 present human figures and animals of this world, i. e. from the 

 Eskimo locality at Ammassalik, but also mythical beings from the 

 spiritual world, which to any orthodox Eskimo is quite as real ; 

 we see the latter in the carved effigies of the sea-spirits (tornarssuk 

 and aperqiteq) and of several auxiliary spirits and ghosts etc. visible 

 otherwise only to the angakut. I may refer to the illustrations given 

 here of some of these objects, both the ivory carvings in figs. 42—44, 

 48—49 and 374, which are all small owing to the scarcity of the 

 material, and also to the larger carvings in wood (drift-timber) in 

 figs. 354— 355, 366-371 (cf. 350 a— Ь, 372 etc.). 



The Eskimo carver does not exercise his skill for the sake of 

 art alone; he likes to satisfy at one time his practical and æsthetical 

 need by giving his implements an artistic shape, viz. by imitating the 

 forms of the seals and whales (seal-tail ornaments etc.) probably led 

 thereto by religious reasons. Even the majority of the carved toy 

 figures of men and animals may originally have been connected with 

 the religious side of life, even though they are now considered as 

 mere toys. 



The style of the objects is not ruled by any individual prin- 

 ciples but by the traditions of the race. It may seem as if the an- 



I) Ryder (1895) p. 337, fig. 38 c; Amdrup coll. nos. 107—109, see Thalbitzer (1909) 

 pp. 492—493, figs. 70 a— с 



