Art

North-American Indians did not have the “profession” of an artist. Art was part of crafts and was tightly connected with religious beliefs and magic.  Complex and developed artistic styles mostly emerged in places of mass rituals, and representatives of different clans, male unions and various cult communities strived to surpass each other. Such situation existed in the American South-East, the North-West, among the Pueblo Indians, and to a lesser extent among the Indians of the Great Plains and California.

In many regions of North America there coexisted two styles of fine art. Male styles were used when creating images on objects that were of high importance for the life of the whole community and that were designed for demonstration during rituals. Recognizable figures of people or animals and parts of their bodies were elements of such images. Female styles were used to decorate everyday and household objects – clothes, baskets, utensils. Images consisted almost exclusively of geometrical elements. Zigzags and triangles as well as figures of people and animals could be interpreted as indications to mythical episodes and preternatural characters. However, such interpretations of the same images rarely coincided even among neighboring tribes. Members of one community sometimes suggested different interpretations for such images.

Tobacco box. USA, Russian America. The Kuskokwim Eskimos. The first third of the 19th cent.		Tobacco box. USA, Russian America. The Central Yupik. The first third of the 19th cent.		Wooden hat. USA. Russian America. The Aleutians, XIX c.
Helmet. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits, XIX c.		Battle shirt. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits, by 1840.		Ritual head. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits, XIX c.
Piipe. USA. Indians of the Plains. XIX c.		Bracelets. Wisconsin. The Winnebago.		Case for a hat. USA. Indians of the Plains. The end of XIX c.
Hat. USA. Russian America. The Kodiak Eskimos.		Spoon. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits.		Spoon. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits.
Model of a boat. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits. 1841-1842.		Model of a boat. USA. Russian America. The Tlingits. 1841-1842.		Pipe. USA. Russian America. The Haida. XIX c.
Jacket. Greenland. Greenland Eskimos, by 1963.