Mask or part of a mechanical doll

The mouth opens as if it is blowing, in the corners are two circles indicative of labrets. The eyes are piercing underneath stern eyebrows. The oval shaped face has a thin nose. This walrus ivory carving of a head is unusual in its shape and expressions. Most likely, the eyes would have been decorated with ivory inlets. The labrets suggest this to be a male figure, but we can only ponder what the purpose of this early Old Bering Sea (500 -750 AD) maskette or head had. Perhaps it was much more recently made and part of a mechanical doll with the neck and body broken off. [1]

Peter Loovers, February 2022

[1] Ann Fienup Riordan, ‘Cat Tamarmeng Ellanqertut/All Things Have Awareness, in Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait, ed. by William W. Fitzhugh, Julie Hollowell and Aron L. Cromwell, (Princeton: Princeton University Art Museum, 2009), pp.226-239, (p.237, fig. 32, 33).