ABOUT THIS BOOK

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.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Yuri E. Berezkin is the head of the American department of the Kunstkamera Museum. Lois Fields is a translator and businesswoman in Anchorage and southcentral Alaska. Katherine Arndt is the bibliographer and curator of rare books at the Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

REVIEWS

"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."

— Sven Haakanson, director of the Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository

"[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."

— James Brooks, Kodiak Daily Mirror

“[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.”

— Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News

“Offers readers a microhistory of a nationally recognized ethnographic museum, insights into historic Russian actions in Sugpiaq country, and striking visual documentation of Sugpiaq material culture. Aesthetically speaking, this catalog ranks among the most beautiful Alaska Native art history catalogs ever published.”

— Zachary R. Jones, Alaska Journal of Anthropology

TABLE OF 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

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