Lot 186
186
AN IMPORTANT OKVIK ESKIMO WALRUS IVORY FEMALE FIGURE

Details
AN IMPORTANT OKVIK ESKIMO WALRUS IVORY FEMALE FIGURE
Circa 100 B.C.-100 A.D.

Cylindrical body, bulging abdomen, tapering at the bottom with small stubby arms, shoulders receeding to thick neck supporting large oval head with long thin nose, inset eyes, small open mouth, prominent cheekbones, the body with double curved incisions delineating breasts and abdomen
7¼in. (18.4cm.) high
Provenance
On long term loan to the Detroit Institute of Arts from 1984 to 1995
Literature
Wardwell, 1986, p. 50 no. 31.

Lot Essay

Stylistically, this imposing figure relates to three other Okvik substyle B examples (see Collins et al, p. 6 no. 4; Wardwell, 1986, pp. 52, 53 nos. 37 and 39). The distended abdomen on all of these examples probably indicates pregnancy. The elegant incisions on this example subtly reinforce its sculptural form.