Figure

Date1700-1902

MediumStone, hair

ClassificationsSculpture

Terms

Object numberC09874

DescriptionIcon. Head in a greenish stone or marble, with human hair attached to top of head, and eye inserts.

Small carvings of humans and animals served two primary functions: spiritual or self-entertainment. Many of these small figures were made as tokens of luck or protection in hunting and health, and some of them are thought to have represented spirits of various inanimate or animate objects. However, many times objects were simply made as a way to pass the time honing artistic skill that could be applied to a later, more significant purpose - for instance, needle case attachments, harpoon-heads, and so forth. This particular sculpture fragment could have had either function.

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