Figure with head missing
Life Story
The shortened arms held at the sides suggest that his large figure is of Punak origin. In its uprightness and simple block-like treatment the sculptor has achieved a ‘monumental’ effect belied by the figure’s actual size. Two small holes have been drilled at the navel and there is a further hole beneath each breast. The slightly swilling breasts and abdomen, with the genital cavity, indicate a female is represented.
Steven Hooper, 1997
Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997) p. 230.
Provenance
Purchased by the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia from Arbutus Limited on the advice of Robert Sainsbury in 1980 out of income from the Sainsbury Purchasing Fund.
On display
Title/Description: Figure with head missing
Materials: Walrus ivory
Measurements: h. 197 w. 60 x d. 40 mm
Accession Number: 730
Historic Period: Punuk period (c. AD 500-1200)
Production Place: Alaska, Bering Sea, North America, The Americas
Credit Line: Purchased with support from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury, 1980
