King Island Dance Mask Totem

King Island Dance Mask Totem
fossil walrus ivory, baleen, sinew, fossil whalebone
4.25"h x 2.25"d x 1"d

Bobby Koezuna, Inupiaq from King Island, Alaska, carved these five minature dance masks from walrus ivory.  He secured each mask to a strip of baleen and set the mask totem on a base of fossil whalebone. Bobby inlaid baleen depicting eyes on each mask.

Bobby llearned how to carve from his father Anthony Koezuna and from fellow artist Paul Nattunguk.  The young Koezuna leaned how to shape and polish walrus teeth before moving on to carving more complex shapes in ivory.  By fifteen, he was carving on his own. Koezuna is best known for his hunting scenes, mask totems and tiny animals carvings.

Alaska Native ivory art is highly collectable but it is important to be an educated buyer. For more information refer to Alaska Native Ivory brochure from the U.S. Department of the Interior – Indian Arts and Crafts Board online: https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/iacb_alaska_ivory_brochure_2018_web.pdf