Thule culture, Alaska
19th century
Walrus ivory
Height 2 1/2" (6.4 cm)
Provenance: Peter and Vera Schnell, Zurich, Switzerland; Sotheby's London, 27 June 1960
Flying shaman figures represent one of the most distinctive categories of Arctic ivory carving, depicting the shaman in a state of spiritual flight during which the soul travels between worlds to intercede with spirits on behalf of the community. Figures of this type were used by village shamans in ceremonies addressing illness, hunting failure, and other crises requiring access to the spirit world. The Thule culture, ancestral to contemporary Inuit peoples across the Arctic, produced a rich tradition of small carved ivory figures that encoded spiritual knowledge in portable and durable form.
This figure is carved from walrus ivory in a compact upright form with the characteristic posture of spiritual ascent, the ivory developed to a warm patina through age and handling. The piece carries an early and distinguished auction provenance, having passed through Sotheby's London on 27 June 1960, and prior to that from the collection of Peter and Vera Schnell of Zurich, Switzerland. The combination of 1960 Sotheby's provenance and European private collection history places this figure within the earliest period of serious Western collecting of Arctic material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Thule culture, Alaska
19th century
Walrus ivory
Height 2 1/2" (6.4 cm)
Provenance: Peter and Vera Schnell, Zurich, Switzerland; Sotheby's London, 27 June 1960
Flying shaman figures represent one of the most distinctive categories of Arctic ivory carving, depicting the shaman in a state of spiritual flight during which the soul travels between worlds to intercede with spirits on behalf of the community. Figures of this type were used by village shamans in ceremonies addressing illness, hunting failure, and other crises requiring access to the spirit world. The Thule culture, ancestral to contemporary Inuit peoples across the Arctic, produced a rich tradition of small carved ivory figures that encoded spiritual knowledge in portable and durable form.
This figure is carved from walrus ivory in a compact upright form with the characteristic posture of spiritual ascent, the ivory developed to a warm patina through age and handling. The piece carries an early and distinguished auction provenance, having passed through Sotheby's London on 27 June 1960, and prior to that from the collection of Peter and Vera Schnell of Zurich, Switzerland. The combination of 1960 Sotheby's provenance and European private collection history places this figure within the earliest period of serious Western collecting of Arctic material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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