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Line Attacher (Human-Seal Design) - Image 1
Line Attacher (Human-Seal Design) - Image 2
Public Domain

Yup'ik

Line Attacher (Human-Seal Design)

Inuit, Late 19th century

Line Attacher (Human-Seal Design) — thumbnail 1
Line Attacher (Human-Seal Design) — thumbnail 2
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Yup'ik

Line Attacher (Human-Seal Design)

Inuit, Late 19th century

Physical Qualities Walrus ivory, 2 3/16 in. (5.5 cm.)
Credit Line John Erikson Collection
Object Number 1955.167.48
Kayak hunting expeditions required a great deal of tools and weapons. Sealskin cords attached weapons to the deck of the vessel, and these small tools, known as line attachers, joined together two sealskin cords without using a knot. These line attachers feature a design that may have been seen as charms to attract prey. Each piece shows beings transforming into other beings—a human and rabbit turn into a seal, while a bear transforms into a human and then into a seal. Such transformations infuse both oral traditions and visual art in Yup’ik culture, which holds that beings do not have a single, immutable form.
Purchased by John Erikson in Alaska ca. 1900
Darienne Turner, The Baltimore Museum of Art, “Arctic Artistry”, July 17, 2022-January 8, 2023.

Inscribed: None visible; object secured in exhibition case.

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