Eskimo dictionary

A pale grey-white ground carries a loose row of thick black brushstrokes across the upper third, forming angular, character-like shapes that resemble an unfamiliar script. Below them sits a smudged dark circle, and at lower left, faint lines of scratched cursive run too fine to read, with a small numeric inscription in the upper right.

The restrained palette of ivory, grey and black lets the calligraphic gestures dominate: a loaded brush applied thick black strokes, some later scraped back into the dry, scumbled ground. Dense marks against a bare field give the piece an austere, enigmatic quality, like an indecipherable written language.