Point Barrow, Alaska, United States, North America
Accession Date:
23 Nov 1883
Notes:
This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
From card: "Illus. in BAE 9th AR, fig. 374-b, p. 377. Illus. in BAE 24th AR, fig. 1015-b, p. 754. Illus. USNM Rept, 1894; fig. 146, p. 719."
Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=637 , retrieved 1-7-2022; see web page for additional information: Ceremonial spinner, Inupiaq. During Kiavsaq, the Top Dance, a performer pulled the cord to spin an inverted top made from wood or the tip of a mountain sheep horn. Down feathers glued lightly to the top flew off into the air, signaling good whaling and hunting in the coming year.
