Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Pair of Earrings
(Jewelry)
In the Yup'ik language of central Alaska, these earrings are called aqlitek. Young girls' ears were pierced, and the hole created was kept open by threading it with seagrass. Over time, larger cords and ropes of the grass were added, to enlarge the piercing. By tradition, if the hole in her ear closed, the girl's eyesight risked being ruined. The earrings combine dangling strands of colored glass beads (brought in via trade) with a walrus ivory hook at the top. The design carved and painted on the ivory may represent Ellam Yua, the universe's supreme being or force, fittingly represented by concentric circles that have no beginning or end. This design is frequently represented on similar ear ornaments collected in Alaska from the late 1800s - early 1900s.
These were reportedly purchased on Nunivak Island, or perhaps from the town of Kanganak (today known as Kipnuk), fairly nearby on the Alaskan mainland.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Mrs. Olga Pertzoff, Lincoln, Massachusetts [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Family of Mrs. Olga Pertzoff, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1980, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1985, by gift.
Geographies
Nunivak Island (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Each H: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the estate and family of Mrs. Olga Monks Pertzoff, 1985
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
1985.20.23-24