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1886.1.750

Spoon made from a fossil mammoth tusk

On display

1886.1.750

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Collection type
Object
Description
Spoon made from a fossil mammoth tusk
Long description
Bone spoon with two pronged butt. [SM 14/01/2008]
Geographical reference
United States of America
Northern America > North America > United States of America
Alaska Bering Strait Kotzebue Sound
Cultural groups
Inuit (Greenland)
Inuit
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1826, uncertain Date made: 1826, uncertain
Date collected
?On or before 1826
Acquisition information
Transferred: 11/03/1886
Materials and processes
Material Animal Ivory Tooth, Process Carved
Dimensions
Length: max 102 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1886.1.750 Other numbers: 381
Research and responses

Bockstoce identifies it as a fat remover. This object does not appear in the list of Beechey objects in Collectors Miscellaneous XI 71 - 75 [AP 20/7/99]

Please note that there was no further information about Beechey on the Donor Index cards at the Ashmolean Museum, Department of Antiquities. [L.Ph 23/3/2004]

Observations provided by research visitors from Wales and Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. 23.1.2008. This object was probably used for skimming fat and removing protein from a skin, where an object with no sharp edges would be necessary. It might also have been used for applying oil to lamps and is likely to have been multifunctional. The object has been cleaned, as it should be stained with oil/fat. The group believe that the shape of the butt is functional and not decorative. It is a good size for attaching the spoon to the user's finger in order to pull the spoon towards the user. This information was provided by research visitors from Wales and Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. 23.1.2008 [SM 24/01/2008]

Search terms: Lighting, Tool, Spoon

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