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Object #     2009-68/1
Object name     Mask
Culture of Origin     Yup'ik
Title     Poisoned Large
Maker or Artist     Phillip John "Aarnaquq" Charette
Materials     Clay, Slip, Porcelain, Paper, Coral, Walnut, Rawhide, Paint, Mother-of-pearl, Feather, Turkey (Bird), Glass Bead, Ink, Paint
Techniques     Painted
Dimensions     H: 53 in, W: 65.5 in, D: 13 in
Exhibit Label    

'Poisoned' was inspired by pre-contact Yup'ik masks I handled at the Smithsonian which were seriously damaged. Early curators and collectors soaked a number of masks in arsenic, stamped poisoned on them. These early collectors did poor repair work expressed by dark scar with blood smear. They then put graffiti on the mask with a serial number, collection, and who collected the piece. Tear drops in blood show spiritually hurt yua's in the masks. Shaman spirits surround the mask healing the mask and the people. - Phillip John Charette, Aarnaquq.
Source     Mr. Philip John "Aarnaquq" Charette
Credit     Purchased with Ethnology Acquisition funds for the permanent collection.


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