А.L. Gorbunkov and the Fortune of Chukchi and Asian Eskimo Ivory Carving Art: Experience of Predecessors and Actual Trends

The article deals with the methods of work of Chukchi and Asian Eskimo ivory cutters and engravers in art workshops since the 1930s. Particular attention is paid to the results of work with Chukchi and Asian Eskimos with A.L. Gorbunkov, the first artistic director of Chukchi ivory carving and fur-tailoring workshops, and is analysed the influence that Gorbunkov exerted on the further development of Chukchi and Asian Eskimo ivory carving art. The author consistently investigates each stage of life of Chukchi and Asian Eskimo ivory carving workshops after Gorbunkov’s return to the mainland: under the leadership of V.M. Leont’ev, I.P. Lavrov, during business trips to the Chukchi Peninsula of the specialists from the Research Institute of Art Industry, as well as the specific characters of work of the Uelen ivory-carving workshop after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Field materials gathered during the expeditions to Chukotka in 2023–2024 provide an objective assessment of the current state of ivory-carving art in Chukchi art workshops. The analysis of the work of Chukchi craftsmen over the century leads to the conclusion that the key role in the development of ivory-carving craft was played by art directors, and the most effective model is the work of local craftsmen in tandem with professional artists.