19th C. Alaskan Inupiat Steatite & Shell Otter Qulliq

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 13, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-02-13 10:00:00 2020-02-13 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-4848
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• Lot Description
  Arctic, from the area of Utqiagvik/Barrow, Alaska, Inupiat people, ca. 19th century CE. One of my favorites! A hand-carved black steatite qulliq (also kudlik), a traditional indigenous Arctic oil lamp with a zoomorphic form. This example is an otter lying on its back with a shallow, ovoid bowl in its belly. The otter has many delightful touches - inlaid shell beads give it wide eyes, tiny nostrils, and, most charmingly, two buck teeth made of highly polished rainbow-colored abalone shells cut into shape. Further inlaid shells ring the bowl. The bowl, meanwhile, features inlaid shells forming the outline of a fish with a large, round, rainbow-colored shell inlaid at its center - as if the otter is holding a fish on its belly, about to consume it. Size: 6.7" L x 3.05" W x 1.8" H (17 cm x 7.7 cm x 4.6 cm)
  
  This qulliq was made to hold seal oil, which was used as fuel. Lamps like this one were tended by a woman in the family, who would place a cube of blubber into the bowl, pound the blubber to press out its oil, and then create a wick from moss or grass, which was soaked in the oil and arranged to produce light in an upward direction. The burning lamp required constant attention, especially in the enclosed space of an igloo. This was the only source of light and heat for the Inuit during the dark winter months. Today these elegant stone objects continue to be used ceremonially.
  
  Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection, acquired in Utqiagvik/Barrow, Alaska, USA in the 1970s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #152623

  Condition

  Wear on surface commensurate with age and use, including chips, nicks, and scratches on the surface, especially in the cavity which was used to hold the oil/flame. Rich deposits on all surfaces. All inlaid shells appear to be present.
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