From Library Journal
This highly informative work describes one anthropologist/collector's holdings of Alaskan Eskimo and Canadian Inuit artifacts. The publication is at once unusual yet valuable because the collector herself is the author of the catalog: Ray turns nearly 50 years of ethnographic investigation into lyric memoir. Objects from her collection range from everyday, utilitarian items to aesthetically sensitive stone carvings. Ray's extensive knowledge of these works brings a new dimension to how readers can understand art production in the Arctic. She discusses tourist goods and their economic importance and is equally adept at tracing key developments in print and doll making, basketry, sewing, picture writing, and scrimshaw carving. A rich portrait of indigenous life in the far north emerges, making this catalog an insightful addition to the growing literature on Eskimo and Inuit material culture. For academic and specialized collections.?Paula A. Baxter, NYPL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
