Blue Bonnet Baby
Private Collection, Canada
Holly, with mammoth ivory inlay.
8.6cm
The 3,000 year old mummified remains of an infant of 3 months from Tomb 1 at Cherchen, Urumchi, in the Tarim Basin, China. One of several mummies excavated, found dressed in tartan fabrics and, all having red hair. Evidence that Europeans were living in the Far East long before history had previously recorded.
Carved from holly, the face an inlay of mammoth ivory, this piece proved to be a satisfactory exercise in reproducing various fabrics – loosely woven hemp, knitted yarns, and twisted rope. Both the rope and felt hat were carved using standard carving methods, the loosely woven shroud, by the use of the ukibori technique, the first time I have used this approach in an attempt to replicate textiles.