From: vdoucett@uism.bu.edu
Message-Id: <9810209089.AA908907928@uism.bu.edu>
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 14:27:47 -0500
To: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Subject: Re: baidarka Eskimo Art?
Charles,
I took a look at your sketch of the mystery doll. Given that your drawing
offers no obvious clues as to its point of origin the one thing that would
give me pause as to it being of Inuit production is its size. Thirty inches
hardly constitutes little in fact it would be extremely large for an Eskimo
doll. I recently finished photography for a catalog of Alaskan ivory carvings
and even the most recent carvings of human forms were hardly larger than 5 or 6
inches. I would say the buyer should beware [unless the price is so low you
think their giving it away]. If your interested in collecting this kind of
material I would stick with established dealers. I have found that the odd
object found in an antique store is most often over priced when compared to
something purchased in a specialty gallery.
If your into doing a little research any of Dorothy Jean Ray's book on
Northern Native art would be a good place to start.
Cheers, Vernon Doucette in Cambridge MA.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Subject: baidarka Eskimo Art?
From: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net> at smtpout
Date: 10/20/98 10:00 AM
Hi Everyone,
I came across a very odd little wooden statue in a North Carolina
antique store. It was about 30 inches tall, round like a fat bowling
pin. The carving was clearly a stylized rendition of a woman wearing a
hood. The wood was extremely light, without any checks or splits. Her
head was turned to look over her left shoulder, and there was a two-inch
hole where her left hand should have been. Very odd. I've tried to
sketch it here:
http://rtpnet.org/robroy/doll.gif
Does anyone have a clue as to what this is? Could it be an eskimo
carving? Shall I drive back there and buy it?? I've never seen anything
like it.
-- Charles Hall Raleigh, NC USA Baidarka Mailing List Archive http://rtpnet.org/robroy/baidarka
