Currently not on view
Head of a mechanical doll,
A.D. 1000–1400 (?)
More Context
Didactics
This unique object may have once been part of a mechanical doll, a Siberian introduction. The flat back side would have been covered by a parka hood or headdress. The dot motifs drilled into the face resemble tattoos worn by Diomede Island men who added a tattooed dot above the upper lip for every whale killed. The markings underneath the lip were more common among women, although on rare occasions men were tattooed like women in Bering Strait to confuse the spirits of disease.
Information
A.D. 1000–1400 (?)
North America, United States, Alaska, St. Lawrence Island
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Ralph T. Coe, <em>Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art </em>(London: Hayward Gallery, 1976)., cat. no. 209 (illus.)
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"Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1997," in "A Window into Collecting American Folk Art: The Edward Duff Balken Collection at Princeton," special issue, <em>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</em> 57, no. 1/2 (1998): p. 164-208., pp. 172–173 (illus.)
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<em>Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection</em> (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), 331 (illus.)
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The Museum regularly researches its objects and their collecting histories, updating its records to reflect new information. We also strive to catalogue works of art using language that is consistent with how people, subjects, artists, and cultures describe themselves. As this effort is ongoing, the Museum’s records may be incomplete or contain terms that are no longer acceptable. We welcome your feedback, questions, and additional information that you feel may be useful to us. Email us at collectionsinfo@princeton.edu.
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