Harpoon-Head

Date1700-1900

MediumBone

DimensionsObject/Work: 220 mm

ClassificationsAgriculture/subsistence

Terms

Object numberTN04300

DescriptionSmall harpoon-head. Made of ivory, it is long and cylindrical, with a split point and three back facing barbs halfway down the shaft. At the end is a pointed stem for inserting the harpoon shaft.

Inuit and Eskimo harpoon-heads were either toggle-heads or barbed heads. The main difference between these two styles lies in the way each cements the animal in place - the toggle-head twists 90 degrees through a complex system of external lines and pulleys, while the barbed heads simply had teeth along the edges that secured the harpoon in place. This harpoon-head is evidently of the second category, with a longer shape and teeth running along the side such that the piece could easily puncture flesh and not so easily come loose.

On View

Not on view

Collections