About the Artwork
The Winged Object functioned as a counterweight for a harpoon used to hunt seals and walruses. The thin, weblike tracery of engraved designs and the animal head carved in rounded relief were intended to please the inua or spirit of the hunted quarry. The Okvik were early Arctic ancestors of the Eskimo; they inhabited villages on both the North American and Asian sides of the Bering Straits as well as the several islands in between.
Winged Object
ca. 300
----------
----------
Native american
Okvik
Walrus ivory, patina
Overall: 7 3/8 inches (18.7 cm)
Sculpture
Indigenous Americas
Founders Society Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Peter W. Stroh and the Stroh Brewery Foundation Fund
1983.7
Public Domain
Markings
Please note: This section is empty
Provenance
1982, excavated by Eskimos from a specific site owned by the Floyd Wogitillan family at the old village of Kukulik (Kukulik site, Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska, USA)
purchased by (Ron Nasser, HRN Primitives, New York, New York, USA)
1983-present, purchased by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
Please note: This section is empty
The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Bulletin of the DIA 61, 3 (1982-1983): p. 10 (ill.).
100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 78-79 (ill.).
Penney, David W. and George C. Longfish. Native American Art. Southport, CT, 1994, p. 246.
Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.
Suggest FeedbackCatalogue Raisoneé
Please note: This section is empty
Credit Line for Reproduction
Okvik, Native American; Eskimo, Native American, Winged Object, ca. 300, walrus ivory, patina. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Peter W. Stroh and the Stroh Brewery Foundation Fund, 1983.7.
Feedback
We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction or improvement.
Suggest Feedback![Winged Object](https://dia.widen.net/content/ojugvnms8m/webp/1983.7-D1.webp?quality=100)
![Winged Object](https://dia.widen.net/content/ojugvnms8m/webp/1983.7-D1.webp?w=500&quality=75)