Inuit
Whistle in the Form of a Bear
Inuit, 1900
Scroll
Inuit
Whistle in the Form of a Bear
Inuit, 1900
Physical Qualities
Bone, 3 3/8 × 1 × 3/4 in. (8.6 × 2.5 × 1.9 cm.)
Credit Line
John Erikson Collection
Object Number
1955.173.7
Much of the imagery associated with Bering Sea Inuit concerns the relationships between predators and their prey. Bears were considered one of the shaman's greatest helping spirits -- assistants in the spiritual flights over land and sea. Figures of the bear are often found in the shaman's paraphenalia kit. This example, a whistle, combines traditional Inuit visual symbols but was produced during the 20th century as a collector's item.
Purchased by John Erikson in Alaska ca. 1900
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Art of Music from the Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to Mansion at Strathmore, North Bethesda, Maryland, January 8, 2005-February 26, 2005; The Washington Country Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland, September 30, 2005-November 20, 2005; The Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland, December 9, 2005-February 5, 2006; Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Gallery, St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, February 15, 2006 - April 9, 2006
The Baltimore Museum of Art"John Erikson Collection of Eskimo Art", December 12, 1963 -January 5, 1964
The Baltimore Museum of Art"John Erikson Collection of Eskimo Art", December 12, 1963 -January 5, 1964
Inscribed: none
