Inside of a House in Oonalashka (Unalaska Island)

Description

This engraving is based on a drawing by John Webber in July 1778 during Captain James Cook's third Pacific voyage. Commissioned by the British Admiralty as the official artist of the expedition, Webber documented the architecture and daily life of the indigenous communities encountered by Cook's ships. This engraving is part of a series of 78 plates, some based on Webber's numerous drawings from the voyage and created by various engravers. These engravings were first published as part of an atlas volume accompanying the expedition diaries, entitled "A voyage to the Pacific Ocean, undertaken, by the command of His Majesty, for making discoveries in the northern hemisphere, etc." The engraving depicts the interior of a community house in Oonalashka (Unalaska Island, Alaska). It focuses on the domestic world of a Unangan (Aleut) family, with women sitting and working on raised sleeping platforms along the walls, a baby lying in a cradle on the floor, and a child climbing towards the central roof opening that provides both light and ventilation. The low, wooden and thatched structure, with its woven mats and scattered household items, is rendered using a meticulous cross-hatching technique, imbuing the image with both ethnographic sensitivity and a sense of intimate observation.