Ancestral Ivories of Bering Strait

The appearance of small, exquisitely carved artifacts of walrus ivory in the Bering Strait region during the first millennium A.D. marks the beginning of an extraordinary florescence in the art and culture of North America. The discovery in the 1930s and 1940s of world-class carvings of animals, mythical beasts, shape-shifting creatures, masks, and human figurines astounded scholars and excited collectors. Nevertheless, the extraordinary objects that belong to this fascinating, sometimes frightening, world of hunting-related art remain largely unknown.

Gifts from the Ancestors examines ancient ivories from the coast of Bering Strait, western Alaska, and the islands in between, illuminating their sophisticated formal aesthetic, cultural complexity, and individual histories. Many of the pieces discussed are from recent Russian excavations and are presented here for the first time in English; others are from private collections not usually open to the public. The essays, written by an international group of scholars, adopt a refreshing interdisciplinary approach that gives voice to the various competing, and now sometimes cooperating, stakeholders, including Native groups, museums, archaeologists, art historians, art dealers, and private collectors.

The sophisticated formal aesthetic, cultural complexity, and individual histories of the ancient ivories from the Bering Strait region are the focus of Gifts from the Ancestors. The book examines these extraordinary objects, which belong to the fascinating, sometimes frightening, world of hunting-related art. Many of the pieces discussed are from recent Russian excavations and are presented here for the first time in English, while others are from private collections not usually open to the public.

The essays in Gifts from the Ancestors are written by an international group of scholars who adopt a refreshing interdisciplinary approach, giving voice to the various stakeholders, including Native groups, museums, archaeologists, art historians, art dealers, and private collectors. This approach illuminates the competing and sometimes cooperating interests surrounding these remarkable artifacts, which mark the beginning of an extraordinary florescence in the art and culture of North America.

The appearance of these small, exquisitely carved walrus ivory artifacts in the Bering Strait region during the first millennium A.D. is a significant event, one that has long been overlooked. The discovery of the world-class carvings in the 1930s and 1940s astounded scholars and excited collectors, but the extraordinary objects themselves have remained largely unknown. Gifts from the Ancestors aims to change that, bringing these remarkable ivories to a wider audience and shedding light on their significance for the art and culture of the region.

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