The Sheldon Jackson Museum February artifacts of the month are ivory necklaces (SJ-II-Z-126 and SJ-II-Z-125). We have little documentation about them, but they are likely from St. Lawrence Island. Despite being broken, these beautiful necklaces exemplify some of the finest and most intricate ivory carving in the museum's collection.
The shorter of the two necklaces features a heart-shaped pendant, with a white ivory octagon hanging below. Both the heart and the octagon have circular cutouts at their center with eight lines radiating out. The chain portion of the necklace is made up of sixty-three fossilized ivory pieces in hues of brown, grey, and white, alternating between diamond and oval shapes.
According to museum records, Leslie Yaw, Superintendent and Trustee of Sheldon Jackson School (and later College) purchased the necklace from a student to sell in the museum shop. Notes in the object file indicate that it was never made available for sale. A museum staff member likely decided to keep it for the permanent collection, perhaps due to its fine workmanship. In 1982, Robert Wongittlen, an ivory carver from Savoonga, examined the necklace and identified his cousin Ivan Pungowiyi, also of Savoonga, as its maker. The necklace may have been listed on Dr. James H. Condit’s 1931-33 inventory as a “filigree ivory chain St. Lawrence Island 1932.”
The longer necklace has a chain made up of 110 fossilized ivory pieces. Small, white, and oval in shape, the pieces feature very intricate cutouts along the edges. The chain terminates in a polished fossilized ivory heart, light brown in color. Museum files don't list a source, but Les Yaw may have also purchased this necklace from the student who sold the other necklace.
According to Arctic Art: Eskimo Ivory, filigree necklaces made from thin slices of ivory were invented by Robert Tungiyan of St. Lawrence Island. Robert Tungiyan was born in May 1864 in Gambell and died after 1940. He was closely related to the Savoonga carvers according to Savoonga Ivory Carvers: A Yup’ik Walrus Ivory Carving Tradition on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska by Bruce Bartholomew.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum cares for two ivory necklaces and five strands of ivory beads. You can see the February artifacts of the month and other examples of ivory artifacts at the museum. Except for holidays, the Sheldon Jackson Museum is currently open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am-4 pm. General admission is $8, $7 for seniors and free for ages 18 and under and for active military and their families.
Bartholomew, Bruce. Savoonga Ivory Carvers: A Yup’ik Walrus Ivory Carving Tradition on St. Lawrence Island. CA Design: Hong Kong, 2015.
Smith, J.G.E. Arctic Art: Eskimo Ivory. Museum of the American Indian. New York, 1980.
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