Seal Effigy Bowl
CultureChugach (Alutiiq), Southern Alaska
Dateca. 1780-1820
MediumWood (probably alder or birch)
DimensionsOverall: 3 5/8 × 8 × 12 1/4 inches (9.22 × 20.32 × 31.12 cm)
Credit LineFrom the Estelle and Morton Sosland Collection
Object number2009.41.7
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 206
Collections
DescriptionCarved wooden bowl of oval form with seal's head and flippers projecting from ends; relief carved band in bowl that matches rim decoration.Gallery LabelThis graceful carving represents a sleek, swimming seal, gliding beneath the water with head and rear flippers extended. The bowl’s elegant simplicity and perfectly proportioned form are unsurpassed within the tradition. The artist’s intently felt representation of the seal functions as an homage to the animal upon which the people depended so greatly. Expanding this concept, the bowl’s low oval form, typical of Chugach style, appears to represent a seal’s open body, which provided the oil the bowl was intended to contain. The artist’s consummate skill is especially visible in his handling of the narrow rim, carved in two delicate parallel ridges. A similar double line within the bowl, together with shallow depressions, activates the interior surface.
Torrence, Gaylord, ed. Continuum: North American Native Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
