Murre (guillemot) or seabird shape; carved wood painted white and black; white glass eyes; painted eyes with carved out pupils on back; separate tail; left wing found Sept. 1970, right wing replaced Sept. 1970; conifer root lashing for wings, tail; fishskin strip to fasten mask onto wearers head. Glass trade beads.
Donor:
Alaska Commercial Company, Benjamin Bristol, and Older University Collections
Collection place:
Lower Yukon, Yukon, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska; Lower Yukon
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo
Collector:
unknown
Collection date:
1898
Materials:
Root (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Accession date:
1904
Context of use:
Ceremonial; might represent the spirit of a murre.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
38.5 inches
Comment:
Photo: 13-4363; 25-2277. Published: Ray, Eskimo Masks: Art and Ceremony, pl. V (text p. 174). References: Ray, p. 174.
Loans:
S1951-1952 #1: University of California, Los Angeles (March 15, 1952–returned by 1957), S1961-1962 #78: Sather Gate Book Shop (May 21, 1962–June 5, 1962), S1964-1965 #9: University of California, Davis (September 3, 1964–January 1965), S1967-1968 #118: Institution of American Indian Arts (April 11, 1968–July 15, 1968), S1969-1970 #13: Museum of Fine Arts, Texas (August 7, 1969–January 2, 1970), S1973-1974 #106: Art Institute of Chicago (June 12, 1974–September 9, 1974), S1973-1974 #65: Oakland Museum of California (March 8, 1974–April 24, 1974), S1982-1983 #35: California State University, Chico (April 5, 1983–July 26, 1984), S2009-2010 #11b: SFO Museum (dates unknown), and S2009-2010 #11: SFO Museum (dates unknown)