Spear

Museum number:
2-6407
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020006407
Alternate number:
x-2600 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.167
Description:
One point, barbed. Sinew and cotton cord attached. Wood, carved; painted red, at proximal end black; quill remains of two feathers; remains of strong twisted sinew lashing; hole in distal ends contains large antler dart point, cotton string "harpoon line;" point originally belonged to large dart (1.8-2.2 m long). This pastiche was probably prepared for an unknowledgeable curio hunter; its heterogeneous parts present the highest standard of the craftsmanship and technology.
Donor:
Alaska Commercial Company, Benjamin Bristol, and Older University Collections
Collection place:
Alaska
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo and Alutiiq
Collector:
unknown
Collection date:
1898
Materials:
Antler (material), Cotton (textile) (string), Paint (coating) (red; black), Quill (spine material) (remains of feathers), Sinew (material), and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Spears (weapons)
Function:
5.7 Objects made for sale, souvenirs, models, and reproductions
Accession date:
1904
Context of use:
Fake spear with harpoon attached like a lance; made for sale. According to Ronald W. Senungetuk (1987), "This is not a novelty. It is a projectile for the throwing board.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
length 1.13 meters
Comment:
Neg. number: ACC42-20; ACC42-19 Graburn, Nelson H.H., Molly Lee, Jean-Loup Rousselot, and Robin K. Wright. Catalogue Raisonné of the Alaska Commercial Company Collection, Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology, 112. Vol. 21. Univ of California Press, 1996.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Spear, accession number 2-6407, described as One point, barbed. Sinew and cotton cord attached. Wood, carved; painted red, at proximal end black; quill remains of two feathers; remains of strong twisted sinew lashing; hole in distal ends contains large antler dart point, cotton string "harpoon line;" point originally belonged to large dart (1.8-2.2 m long). This pastiche was probably prepared for an unknowledgeable curio hunter; its heterogeneous parts present the highest standard of the craftsmanship and technology.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Spear, accession number 2-6407, described as One point, barbed. Sinew and cotton cord attached. Wood, carved; painted red, at proximal end black; quill remains of two feathers; remains of strong twisted sinew lashing; hole in distal ends contains large antler dart point, cotton string "harpoon line;" point originally belonged to large dart (1.8-2.2 m long). This pastiche was probably prepared for an unknowledgeable curio hunter; its heterogeneous parts present the highest standard of the craftsmanship and technology.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Spear, accession number 2-6407, described as One point, barbed. Sinew and cotton cord attached. Wood, carved; painted red, at proximal end black; quill remains of two feathers; remains of strong twisted sinew lashing; hole in distal ends contains large antler dart point, cotton string "harpoon line;" point originally belonged to large dart (1.8-2.2 m long). This pastiche was probably prepared for an unknowledgeable curio hunter; its heterogeneous parts present the highest standard of the craftsmanship and technology.

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