The Sheldon Jackson Museum October artifact of the month is a snow beater (SJ-II-X-231). The object record contains very little information, but it's likely Iñupiaq, from the 19th century, and collected by Sheldon Jackson. This snow beater is especially interesting because different people appear to have added engraving work.
Snow beaters were traditionally used to knock snow from boots and garments. They are often made of bone, including whale bone, ivory, or deer horn, and vary in form and embellishment. Some are straight, while others, like the October artifact of the month, are curved. Handles may be straight, notched, or wrapped in leather cordage. Sometimes a cloth or leather cord is added to attach to a belt.
This snow beater is made of walrus ivory and features a seal hide leather loop. Its most striking visual aspect is the contrast in style between detailed engravings on both sides. One side features three rows of village and hunting scenes depicted in silhouette. The first row shows a line of twenty-seven figures standing with legs wide and arms outstretched, touching hands. The second row depicts four scenes with umiaks: men spearing a whale, harpooning a walrus, pursuing a walrus, and rowing with an unidentifiable figure in the water behind them. The third row shows a village scene with three images of individual men pulling a harvested seal, an image of two men pulling a harvested seal, a man on a sled pulled by a sled dog, and three qargi or houses with smoke billowing out of the roofs.
At the far left of the same side of the beater, an image of a man playing a drum is engraved in a completely different style. Linework is visible in hair and facial features, on his garments, and around the edge of the drum ring.
On the right, an image of a blanket toss is simpler than the drummer but still slightly more detailed than the three adjacent bands. In what looks to be the same handiwork, the opposite side of the beater shows two women stretching a shirt or parka between them, using snow beaters. Drops of snow fall from the shirt. One woman wears a baby on her back.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum cares for seven snow beaters: two made of caribou bone, one made of deer antler, two made of unidentified bone, and two made of walrus ivory. You can see the October artifact of the month and other examples of snow-related artifacts at the museum. The Sheldon Jackson Museum is currently open Wednesday-Saturday,10 am-4 pm. General admission is $7, $6 for seniors and free for ages 18 and under and for active military and their families.
Nelson, Edward William. The Eskimo About Bering Strait. Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, 1983.
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