{"secondaryobjectnumber":null,"periodterms":[],"creditline":"Bequest of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951","caption":"Old Bering Sea, 400–800 CE, Alaska, Bering Strait, United States, Arctic, Harpoon counterweight in the form of a vertebra with bird imagery. Walrus ivory; 5.2 x 14.4 x 3 cm. Bequest of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951 (1998-493)","cultureterms":[{"id":2038726,"culture":"Old Bering Sea"}],"type":"artobject","dimensionsproposed":"","terms":[{"id":2055189,"term":"ivories","aatid":300047325,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2116833,"term":"weights","aatid":300197555,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2158039,"term":"birds","aatid":null,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2038726,"term":"Old Bering Sea","aatid":300016750,"termtype":"Culture"},{"id":2049936,"term":"harpoons","aatid":300037011,"termtype":"Classification"},{"id":2147324,"term":"hunting","aatid":300239666,"termtype":"Subject"},{"id":2156714,"term":"incising","aatid":300053847,"termtype":"Techniques"},{"id":2166225,"term":"ivory","aatid":300011857,"termtype":"Materials"}],"geography":[{"displaygeography":"Place collected: North America, United States, Alaska, Bering Strait","code":"Place collected","continent":"North America","subcontinent":"Arctic","country":"United States","region":"Bering Strait","state":"Alaska","city":null,"county":null,"subregion":null,"locale":null,"locus":null,"river":null,"excavation":null,"geoname":"http://www.geonames.org/4031767/bering-strait.html","location":{"lat":"66","lon":"-169"}}],"dimensionelements":[{"element":"Overall","type":"Height","units":"centimeters","dimension":"5.20"},{"element":"Overall","type":"Width","units":"centimeters","dimension":"14.40"},{"element":"Overall","type":"Depth","units":"centimeters","dimension":"3.00"}],"markings":null,"accessionyear":"1998-01-01","newaccession":0,"makers":[],"datecomputed":600,"signed":null,"restrictions":null,"classification":"Ivories","packages":[{"packageid":181974,"name":"web_2020_AAA"},{"packageid":207234,"name":"SAB_Gala2021"}],"catalograisonne":null,"classifications":[{"id":2049936,"classification":"harpoons"},{"id":2055189,"classification":"ivories"},{"id":2116833,"classification":"weights"}],"exhibitions":[],"cultures":[{"id":14997,"culture":"Old Bering Sea","alphasort":"Old Bering Sea","begindate":0,"enddate":0,"displayculture":"Old Bering Sea","displaydate":null}],"primaryimage":["https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1998-493_1"],"displaytitle":"Harpoon counterweight in the form of a vertebra with bird imagery","displayculture":"Old Bering Sea","displaymaker":null,"captionhtml":"Old Bering Sea, 400–800 CE, Alaska, Bering Strait, United States, Arctic, <i>Harpoon counterweight in the form of a vertebra with bird imagery</i>. Walrus ivory; 5.2 x 14.4 x 3 cm. Bequest of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951 (1998-493)","displaydate":"400–800 CE","medium":"Walrus ivory","media":[{"id":21991,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1998-493_2","isprimary":0,"rank":2,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"PUAM Photo"},{"id":21992,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/1998-493_1","isprimary":1,"rank":1,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"PUAM Photo"},{"id":46225,"uri":"https://media.artmuseum.princeton.edu/iiif/3/collection/INV011420","isprimary":0,"rank":3,"mediatypeid":1,"mediaviewtype":"(not assigned)","restrictions":null,"caption":"Inventory Project"}],"displayperiod":null,"extended_content":false,"campuscollections":"false","bibliography":[{"boilertext":"<p>\"The checklist of the John B. Elliott Bequest,\" <em>Record of the Princeton University Art Museum </em>61 (2002): p. 49-99.</p>","citation":"<p>\"The checklist of the John B. Elliott Bequest,\" <em>Record of the Princeton University Art Museum </em>61 (2002): p. 49-99.</p>, p. 93","date":2002,"id":3025,"uri":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774767"}],"nowebuse":"False","periods":[],"department":"Art of the Ancient Americas","attribute_groups":[{"id":2199317,"term":"Art of the Ancient Americas","termtype":"Collecting Area"}],"daterange":"A.D. 500-1000","dateend":800,"depicted":[],"titles":[{"title":"Harpoon counterweight in the form of a vertebra with bird imagery","titletype":"Primary Title","displayorder":1}],"hasimage":"true","creditlinerepro":null,"objectnumber":"1998-493","inscribed":null,"texts":[{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Gallery Label","textentryhtml":"<P><STRONG>Art of the Hunt</STRONG></P>\r\n<P><BR>Arctic carvers adorned their hunting gear in order to endow it with the spiritual prowess of great predators. Harpoons used for hunting seals and walrus, for example, frequently feature the polar bear, with the rear counterweight symbolizing the vertebra at the nape of the polar bear’s long neck and the socket piece, near the front end, suggesting the bear’s head. Counterweights can simultaneously represent birds, likely raptors or other keen hunters. Conversely, harpoon heads might resemble teeth or talons or depict prey, a visual means of asking the soul of the animal to give its flesh to the hunter. Among the remarkable engineering achievements of Arctic carvers, the harpoon heads were designed to penetrate thick hide and then toggle, fastening the prey firmly to an attached line and float—allowing the hunter to track and tire the mammal from a safe distance. </P>","remarks":"2015 AAA Reinstallation. Group chat for three objects: 1997-172, 1998-482, and 1998-493"}],"datebegin":400,"sortnumber":"1998  493","published_date":"2026-02-11 10:51:15.075613","objectid":36810,"dimensions":"h. 5.2 cm., w. 14.4 cm., d. 3 cm. (2 1/16 x 5 11/16 x 1 3/16 in.)","on_view":false}