Nassiŋuaq (Seal Charm)
19th century
Walrus Ivory, Pigment
Object
0.5 x 0.625 x 2.063 in. (1.27 x 1.588 x 5.239 cm)
Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number:
2019.33.18
Other Number(s):
Inuit_Ivory.18 (Temporary Number)
Geography:
North and Central America, United States, Alaska
Classification:
Ceremonial and Performance Artifacts; Ritual Objects
Culture/Nationality:
Iñupiaq, Alaskan, Arctic, Native American, North American
Keywords
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This object has the following keywords:
Arctic*,
carvings*,
Inupiaq,
lures*,
Native American*,
North American*,
pigment*,
seals*,
walrus ivory*
- Arctic - In the context of art and culture, the culture of the indigenous peoples of the northern polar region of the earth, including the Arctic Ocean and the northernmost parts of Asia, Europe, and North America. The term may also refer to the animals, plants, climate, geology, geography, and oceanography of the area.
- carvings - Refers to works executed by cutting a figure or design out of a solid material such as stone or wood. It typically refers to works that are relatively small in size, are part of a larger work, or are not considered art. For large and medium-sized three-dimensional works of art, use the broader term "sculpture" or another appropriate term.
- Inupiaq
- lures - Use generally for objects designed to attract animals for capture; use specifically for artificial devices used for catching fish.
- Native American - Typically reserved to refer narrowly to the cultures of the native peoples of the United States and Canada, excluding the Eskimos and Aleuts. For the indigenous peoples of Canada use the term "First Nations." For the broader concept of the cultures of any native peoples of Central America, South America, North America, or the West Indies who are considered to belong to the Mongoloid division of the human species, use "Amerindian (culture)."
- North American - Refers to the cultures of the continent of North America, which is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Circle, and Central America. In classifications schemes based on physical geography, Central America, and North America are parts of the same continent.
- pigment - Any relatively insoluble organic, inorganic, natural or artificial substance that imparts a color to another substance or mixture and always appears as the same specific color when viewed in white light. It is the constituent of paint or ink that provides the color. Distinguished from a dye, which is soluble in the vehicle, a pigment is insoluble in the vehicle, but instead is held in a suspension.
- seals - General term for any of 32 species of web-footed aquatic mammals that live chiefly in cold seas and whose body shape, round at the middle and tapered at the ends, is adapted to swift and graceful swimming. There are two types of animals often called by this term: the earless, or true, seals (family Phocidae); and the eared seals (family Otariidae), which comprise the sea lions and fur seals.
- walrus ivory - Material comprising the dentin of walrus tusks.
Additional Images
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Dimensions
- Object Dimensions: 0.5 x 0.625 x 2.063 in. (1.27 x 1.588 x 5.239 cm)
Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
- "Alaska Native Collections." (Accessed August 18, 2020): Smithsonian Institution, https://alaska.si.edu. https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=45.
Portfolio List
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