ESKIMO MASK Point Hope, Alaska, circa 1850 (or earlier) Wood, 5 5/8 inches
MONG the most effective of the powerfully expressive art form of the Eskimo mask are those from Point Hope, Alaska, of which this is a particularly masterful example. Dating from circa 1850 (or earlier), it transcends the element of representation to conjure up a sense of the spiritual world of a culture vastly different from our own, but to which we are compelled to surrender. Few civilizations participate so directly in the reality of the unseen world which animates humanity so profoundly. $12,500
MONG the most effective of the powerfully expressive art form of the Eskimo mask are those from Point Hope, Alaska, of which this is a particularly masterful example. Dating from circa 1850 (or earlier), it transcends the element of representation to conjure up a sense of the spiritual world of a culture vastly different from our own, but to which we are compelled to surrender. Few civilizations participate so directly in the reality of the unseen world which animates humanity so profoundly.