Collection: Fry

Item Number: Fry0146

Category: Dart

Region: Arctic

Tribe: Eskimo

Period: 1850-1875

Materials: Wood, ivory, seal hide line and seal bladder

Description: Bladder dart, with an inflatable seal bladder. The ivory point is designed to detach from the wooden shaft upon penetration of the prey. This dart is meant to be thrown with an atlatl, by a native hunter in a seated position in a kayak. The inflated bladder would aid in bringing the dart to the surface, allowing the prey to be retrieved and killed.

Dimensions: 54"

Provenance:

Jeffrey Myers, New York, N.Y.

Exhibitions:

Lure of the Arctic, Cincinnati Art Museum, October 2007 - January 2008

References:

Fitzhugh, William W. and Susan A. Kaplan, Inua; Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1982, p. 70

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