Magazines - Tribal Art Winter 2009

Par Bryan R. Just

Introduction
Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait, on view at the Princeton University Art Museum through January 10, 2010, presents nearly two hundred superlative walrus ivory carvings produced on both sides of the Bering Strait. While the aesthetic quality of the ivory carving takes precedence throughout the installation, the exhibition provides visitors with an unfolding appreciation of the material, gradually layering various interpretations from distinct perspectives.
In the first part of the installation, objects of the sort first championed in the Western art world—including stylized, expressive human figures (fig. 1), complexly polymorphic sculptures that meld imagery of various animals and humans, and the once-enigmatic “winged objects”(fig. 2)—are presented as mysterious, decontextualized “works of art.” The viewer is thus in a position analogous to that of the early collector of such objects, relying on pure vision to recognize the familiar (such as the human form) and marvel at the quality of carving on curiously shaped objects. The environment in which these ancient ivory works were made is considered next, focusing on the rich marine life that served as both sustenance and the source of raw materials for survival in an extreme climate. Comparison to more recent cultural practices in the region provides viewers with deeper perspectives. Many of the human figurines, for example, are engraved with tattoos interpretable through comparison to historically documented traditions. Small, delicate whale-tail combs (fig. 3) likely worn by women whose spouses were on a whale hunt, can be understood as items that thoroughly involve women in the success of the hunt.