The Alutiit/Sugpiat
A Catalog of the Collections of the Kunstkamera
Distributed for University of Alaska Press
Translated by Lois Fields and Katherine Arndt
440 pages
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654 color plates
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9 1/2 x 11 1/2
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© 2012
This beautifully photographed book catalogs the collection of nearly five hundred Alutiiq cultural items held by the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, or the Kunstkamera, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Gathered between 1780 and 1867, many of the artifacts are composed of fur, feathers, gut, hair, and other delicate materials, which prevent their transport for display or study.
To document these artifacts for the public, the Kunstkamera collaborated with the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, Alaska. Together, anthropologists and members of the Alutiiq community combined the collection records with cultural knowledge and high-resolution digital imagery and worked to name objects, describe their uses, and detail the materials used in their construction. As a result, this book will provide the Alutiit, Alaskans, Russians, and the global community with lasting access to one of the oldest, most extensive ethnographic collections from the central Gulf of Alaska.
James Brooks | Kodiak Daily Mirror
"[T]he University of Alaska Press has released a catalog of the richest of troves - the Alutiiq collections of the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, Russia. . . . Each artifact in the catalog is pictured on a white background in images clear enough to allow crafters to see how a hat is woven or a kayak constructed. Most images are accompanied by translated source documents that explain what the artifact was used for. . . .To an outside observer, this might seem just like a history lesson. To the Kodiak Alutiiq, it's an instruction manual."
Mike Dunham | Anchorage Daily News
“[This] gorgeously illustrated 400-page book from University of Alaska Press is stunning in several respects, a contender for the title of the most beautiful volume of Alaska ethnography ever published.”
Sven Haakanson, director of the Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository
"When you go through this catalog, it's breathtaking to see the pieces, to actually be able to understand how they were made, from the spruce root hats to the kayaks, anyaks and masks."
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
The Traditional Culture of the Alutiit
The History of the Formation of the Kunstkamera’s Alutiiq Collection
The Katmais
Weapons and Hunting Equipment
Household Utensils
Clothing
Ceremonial Paraphernalia
The Kodiak Alutiit
Hunting Equipment and Weapons
Household Utensils
Clothing, Decorations, and Symbols of Power
Cult Objects
The Chugach
Hunting Equipment
Weapons
Household Utensils
Ceremonial Paraphernalia
Sugpiaq Collections of the Kunstkamera: A Sugpiaq Perspective
Collectors and Explorers of Russian America
Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
The Traditional Culture of the Alutiit
The History of the Formation of the Kunstkamera’s Alutiiq Collection
The Katmais
Weapons and Hunting Equipment
Household Utensils
Clothing
Ceremonial Paraphernalia
The Kodiak Alutiit
Hunting Equipment and Weapons
Household Utensils
Clothing, Decorations, and Symbols of Power
Cult Objects
The Chugach
Hunting Equipment
Weapons
Household Utensils
Ceremonial Paraphernalia
Sugpiaq Collections of the Kunstkamera: A Sugpiaq Perspective
Collectors and Explorers of Russian America
Abbreviations
For more information, or to order this book, please visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu
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