Native American, Northwest Alaska, Brevig Mission, Thule culture, ca. 1200 to 1700 CE. An incredibly rare hand-carved wooden effigy idol figurine of a miniature size long preserved in the frozen earth of northern Alaska. Standing on gently bent legs, the figure has a simplified body with separated legs, a bulging belly, and sloped shoulders with short arms, and a minimalist visage of sunken eyes, a prominent nose, and a straight mouth presented on an ovoid head. The wonderful state of preservation of this figure is accentuated by the smooth patina which covers the exterior. Size: 1" W x 3" H (2.5 cm x 7.6 cm); 4.5" H (11.4 cm) on included custom stand.
The Thule people were the ancestors of modern Inuit whose advanced culture and technology made them a part of the global economy during what we in the west call the medieval period. This figure was carved during a dynamic time in Thule history; recent research indicates that sometime after ca. 1200 CE, perhaps in a span of just a few years, the Thule people spread from their Bering Strait homeland all the way to Greenland, likely driven by the search for iron, both from meteoric deposits they may have heard about from the Dorset people to their east and from trade. They traded with the Chinese to their west - metal beads and a belt buckle of Chinese manufacture and dating to 1100 to 1300 CE have been found in in the Seward Peninsula - and interacted with the Vikings to their east, who describe them in the Vinland Saga as the Skraelings.
Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection
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#166457
Condition
Indentation to side of head. Repairs to feet. Some very light scratches. Otherwise, excellent with rich patina.