Not Just a Pretty Face: Dolls and Human Figurines in Alaska Native Cultures (Paperback)

~ Molly C. Lee (Editor), Terry P. Dickey (Editor), University of Alaska Museum (Corporate Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"The exhibition of 'Not just a pretty face,' which opened at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks ... in June 1999, celebrates the many uses of dolls and human figurines from Alaska Native cultures past and present. The exhibition is drawn almost exclusively from the museum's collection of dolls and human miniatures from Alaska Native cultures. It includes several thousand figures from Alaska's prehistoric and early historic periods and is one of the largest and most representative public collections of historic and modern Alaska Native dolls in existence. All six ethnic groups in Alaska--the Inupiaq and Yupik Eskimos, the Aleuts and Alutiiqs, as well as the Athabascan and Northwest Coast Indians--are represented in the collection, though Central Yupik and St. Lawrence Island Yupik collections of human figures are largest. This essay describes the various purposes dolls and human figurines have served in Alaska Native cultures past and present. We have drawn on a wide variety of sources: published, archival, and oral history furnished by the exhibition's Advisory Team"--P. 3.

About the Author

Molly Lee is curator of ethnology and history at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. She is the author, with Gregory A. Reinhardt, of the critically acclaimed Eskimo Architecture: Dwelling and Structure in the Early Historic Period (University of Alaska Press 2003). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 75 pages
• Publisher: Museum of Primitive Art & Culture (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931163188
• ISBN-13: 978-0931163180
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,532,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A striking showcase of dolls and dollmaking, July 8, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just a Pretty Face: Dolls and Human Figurines in Alaska Native Cultures (Paperback)

Now in an updated second edition, Not Just A Pretty Face: Dolls And Human Figurines In Alaska Native Cultures is a striking showcase of dolls and dollmaking, exploring their role in the lives of native Alaskans from ancient ivory carvings to the modern tourist market. Filled with color photographs, Not Just A Pretty Face is both an artistic and anthropological showcase. The text surveys the history of dolls and dollmaking, and includes interviews with dollmakers as well as speculations upon the future of native arts. A lay reader-friendly showcase for anthropology shelves, Native American studies shelves, and doll collector shelves alike.