ABSTRACT
By focusing on one specific item – a unique model of yhyakh carved from mammoth ivory – this book has highlighted the myriad ways in which this model has been mobilised to produce and promote narratives for and about Sakha people. By addressing the complexity of responses to the model, with a particular focus on artistic engagement, we point to the ways in which historic objects are used to reinforce ideas of ethnicity and culture and are thus used politically. In this chapter, we revisit the key themes of the book to comment on what we believe the narrative capacities of historical objects can be. We further consider the implications of these narrative capacities for future artistic engagements with historical objects, particularly in contexts where people have been silenced and see the potential of objects for making their voices heard.
