Wood and bone / Artistic Bone Carving. XVII-early XX Centuries

"A FAIRYTALE OF KELE AND GIRLS" WALRUS TUSK

Shtang, A. Ye., Magomedov, Gadzhi Bakhmud

1940s

Chukotka, Uelen settlement

КП 3115, НДК

Walrus tusk, color Engraving

49 x 6,5 x 3,3 cm

Woodwork and Bone Work Department

Kele is an evil spirit that brings troubles and illnesses. The fairytale tells that once Kele caught three girls and tied them to a tree, but a fox helped them escape. At the end of the tale Kele dies – it runs after the girls, drinks the whole river and bursts. Many carvers devoted their works to this fairytale and expressed their individual emotional perception and understanding of this motif. Every work on this topic aims to express the story by artistic means in the tiniest detail.