Collector's notes: "The wheels are used on a tripod to raise water from wells. They are also used in gardens, with donkey power, to raise irrigation water from the canals. Like the water-lifting bucket, they are now obsolete. Electric pumps on pickup trucks or tank trucks have replaced them". The accession file includes a photocopied pages of a book (Vidal, F.S. "The Oasis of Al-Hasa". Arabian American Oil Co. 1955, p 143-146) which describes, and has a photograph, of a similar wheel in use.
Wooden pulley. Base is solid wood cylinder, with a hole for an axel. Around this are several pieces of wood that fit together in a wheel shape, lashed together and to the base with leather strips. Outer surface of the wheel has a groove to accommodate a belt or rope.
