Woman Cleaning Seal Skin with Ulu Knife Doll

Woman Cleaning Seal Skin with Ulu Knife Doll
cottonwood, sheared beaver, Arctic fox, seal skin, hair, embroidery thread, ink pigment
doll: 9.25"h x 5.d"w x 4"d

This wonderful hand-crafted doll was created by Yupik doll maker, Shelee Chamberlain, from Bethel, Alaska.  The head is carved from cottonwood and features traditional facial tattoos.

She is wearing hand-embroidered and handmade cotton Kuspik accented with fox and beaver trim as well as mitts and mukluks made of suede. She holds and Ulu knife with a walrus ivory blade and a baleen handle. The doll depicts the precision, patience, strength as well as the inherited knowledge of Yupik women to skillfully clean a sealskin using the sharp blade of an ulu knife.

The doll is signed and dated on the bottom of the right foot mukluk. This vintage doll is a collector’s piece. Please call for more information or email arcticspiritgallery@gmail.com.