Bark Shredder
date: label: Accession Date
content: 21 Oct 1881
name: label: Collector
content: George Catlin
label: Donor Name
content: Mrs. Joseph Harrison Jr.
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "Old label: "Made of whale's skull. Handle, a bar between two upright end-pieces, terminating in animal heads. Ornamented by the conventional dot and circle." From late 19th or early 20th century Smithsonian exhibit label stored with the card: "Braking tool - Made of whale's skull. Handle, a bar between two upright end pieces, terminating in animal heads. Ornamented by the conventional dot and circle. Length of blade 9 inches. Washington Territory, 1854. Collected by George Catlin."
label: Notes
content: Illus. Fig. 5.17, p. 88 in Brotherton, Barbara. 2008. S'abadeb = The gifts : Pacific Coast Salish arts and artists. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum in association with University of Washington Press. Figure caption notes: "This functional tool was used to break down the fibrous inner bark of the red cedar tree to make it pliable for weaving mats, hats and baskets, or to break down bark from the yellow cedar with which to weave robes, capes, and dresses. Softened bark was also used for bandages, baby diapers, and rope. The dried strips of bark cut in uniform lengths would be laid over a sharp edge - like a canoe paddle - and chopped with the shredder. ... On each end this shredder has identical creatures with open mouths, short ears, and rounded eyes. Each creature's foot, as well as the blade, is decorated with incised circles and dots."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 7 Jul 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Washington, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Salish (?)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 010638
label: USNM Number
content: E73290-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bark Beater