Stool For Watching Seal On The Ice
Item number E3978-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.
Public
RRN ID
Item Records
This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.
The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.
These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.
- Data
- Data Source
This information was automatically generated from data provided by National Museum of Natural History. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.
Notes
FROM CARD: "LOAN: CROSSROADS SEP 22 1988. ILLUS.: CROSSROADS OF CONTINENTS CATALOGUE FIG.,100, P. 90. LOAN RETURNED: JAN 21 1993." Crossroads of Continents photo caption identifies this as a stool used while waiting for seals at their breathing holes. FROM SECOND CARD: "SEAL-HUNTER'S STOOL. WOOD, HEART-SHAPED; TRIANGULAR HOLE CUT NEAR THE CENTER, WITH CHAMFERED EDGE ON LOWER SIDES; THREE SMALL WOODEN PEGS INSERTED AS LEGS. SIZE, 12 3/4 BY 8 INCHES; HEIGHT, 5 3/8 INCHES. ANDERSON RIVER, ARCTIC COAST. 3978. R. MACFARLANE. A ROUGHLY CONSTRUCTED BUT DURABLE UTENSIL, USED BY ESKIMOS TO STAND UPON WHILE WATCHING FOR SEALS IN WINTER." Described p. 116 in Brown, James Temple. 1883. The whale fishery and its appliances. Washington: Govt. print. off.. Description is the same as that listed on second card.Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/143 , retrieved 1-8-2020: Three-legged stool, made from wood. The top is somewhat triangular is shape, with rounded corners, two outward-curving sides and one side with a deep inward curve. A triangular hole has been cut into the top, both to allow the stool to be carried and to reduce overall weight. The edges of the stool top and of the triangular hole have been beveled on the underside surface. The legs are inserted through holes drilled into the top piece, and taper from top to bottom. More information here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/54: Stools were used when hunting seals at breathing holes or when fishing through holes cut through ice. Hunters would either stand on the stool, with heels together over one leg and the other legs supporting the toes of each foot, or would sit on the stool.Listed on page 28 in "The Exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915", in section "Family Group of the Western Eskimo, Alaska".
Item History
- Made in Northwest Territories, Canada
- Collected in Northwest Territories, Canada
- Received from Roderick R. MacFarlane on December 21, 1866
What
- Name
- Stool For Watching Seal On The Ice
- Identification Number
- E3978-0
- Type of Item
- stool
Where
- Holding Institution
- National Museum of Natural History
- Made in
- Northwest Territories, Canada
- Collected in
- Northwest Territories, Canada
Who
- Culture
- Eskimo, Inuit and Inuvialuk
- Received from
- Roderick R. MacFarlane
When
- Acquisition Date
- on December 21, 1866
Other
- Accession Number
- 66A00090
Ask a question
Let the RRN community answer your questions
Public
With an account, you can ask other users a question about this item. Request an Account
Shared Knowledge
Share your knowlege of this item with the RRN community
Public
With an account, you can submit information about this item and have it visible to all users and institutions on the RRN. Request an Account
Similar Items
