30 Years Ago
Ornate objects
Jean Blodgett, the former curator of Inuit art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, wrote in the Autumn 1982 issue about the many uses for whalebone among the Thule people. Whalebone was utilized for weapons and tools, burial cairns, houses, and as an artistic medium. As Blodgett explained, it was not a popular medium for the Thule artists — who preferred to use ivory — but decorative incisions can be found in much of the functional equipment they created.