Inuit Bone Mask By Bobby Nashookpuk

Inuit Bone Mask By Bobby Nashookpuk
ca. 2006
Size 9.75″ H x 12.5″ W x 3.5″ Deep with Total Height with Spindle 13.5″ H
Hand Carved Seal Heads From Bone with the Seal Holding a Wood Spindle with Four Round Discs and Four Inlaid Black Stones for Eyes Artist is From Point Hope Alaska
Excellent Condition
Bobby Nashookpuk is an acclaimed Inupiaq (Inuit) artist from Point Hope, Alaskaone of North America’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements. Born and raised in this remote Arctic village on the Chukchi Sea, he draws deeply from his cultural heritage as a member of the Inupiat Eskimo community. Nashookpuk learned traditional carving techniques from his father (a renowned whaling captain and tribal healer), uncles, and grandfather, honing skills in subsistence living and artistry amid the harsh tundra environment. Now based in Fairbanks, he creates original sculptures using time-honored materials like fossilized whale bone, walrus ivory, baleen, and driftwood, often employing traditional tools to honor ancestral stories without modern compromises.