Alaskan Gallery

Eskimo wooden serving bowl, from Alaska. Artist: Werner Forman

Eskimo wooden serving bowl, from Alaska. A serving bowl which has been dyed red and painted with a mythological creature. The bentwood rim is decorated with pieces of white stone. In Alaska men and older boys spent much of their time working or visiting in a separate building, the kashim'. The women brought food to them in trays and bowls. From the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

© Werner Forman Archive/ Smithsonian Institution, Washington / Heritage-Images

Eskimo moon spirit mask, from Andreofsky, western Alaska, collected in 1893. Artist

Eskimo moon spirit mask, from Andreofsky, western Alaska, collected in 1893. The face on this mask represents the spirit of the moon. The board around the face symbolizes air, the hoops signify the levels of the cosmos, and the feathers represent stars. In many regions the spirits of the air and the moon were major deities; stars represented mythical beings. From the Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka, Alaska

© Werner Forman Archive/ Sheldon Jackson Museum, Sitka, Alaska / Heritage-Images