Currently not on view
Androgynous figure,
A.D. 800–1200
More Context
Didactics
This unusual figure represents a male with pronounced genitalia and emerging breasts. Among Siberian Chukchi, transgender male shamans were believed to be the most powerful. They were commanded by the <em>ke’let</em> (spirits, sometimes female) to shed all male pursuits and sexual manners at an early age when shamanistic inspiration first manifested itself. Canadian Inuit myth reveals that a transgender shaman created all women. This was directly associated with his ability to straddle the procreative nature of the sexes. A groove, perhaps representing a charm belt, encircles the waist. The shoulder/breast design is typically Punuk in style and could represent beads, tattoos, or clothing decoration.
Information
A.D. 800–1200
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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