Exceptional Inuit Bow Drill
Alaska
19th century
Length 17 3/4" with custom museum mount
Provenance: Olympia Washington Trade
Sothebys New York Lot 149 May 22, 1989 ($5500)
Mr and Mrs. Meyer Potamkin, NY
This exceptionally rare bow drill was an essential tool for Northern Indigenous carvers in the 19th century. Although many items of bone or ivory received decoration, the bow drill itself often received the most extensive engraving. This bow drill shows extensive decoration on all surfaces. These have been referred to as journal bows as they mark an individual hunter’s accomplishments. Bow drills and their decoration were used throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and provided a record of everyday life as well as the changes and interactions that came from European contact. By the late 19th century, the decoration of bow drills had dropped off in favor of other forms of engraved ivory better suited to the souvenir market. This decrease in bow drill decoration corresponded to the establishment of American trading companies following the Alaska purchase in 1867. These companies expanded the trade and market for engraved curios by reselling them to burgeoning tourist markets along the Inside Passage of southeast Alaska, and by exporting them to the West Coast of the United States.
The bow drill was used by attaching a piece of leather through the holes at one end, the leather was then wrapped around a wooden shaft that held a pointed drill tip and then the leather would be attached to the opposite side of the bow. Often the wooden shaft would be held by a mouthpiece or an assistant. The drill end was used to engrave into bone or ivory by the act of friction caused by the bow moving back and forth, turning the drill bit. See last image by Edward Curtis from King Island, circa 1920, showing how the bow drill was used.
Alaska
19th century
Length 17 3/4" with custom museum mount
Provenance: Olympia Washington Trade
Sothebys New York Lot 149 May 22, 1989 ($5500)
Mr and Mrs. Meyer Potamkin, NY
This exceptionally rare bow drill was an essential tool for Northern Indigenous carvers in the 19th century. Although many items of bone or ivory received decoration, the bow drill itself often received the most extensive engraving. This bow drill shows extensive decoration on all surfaces. These have been referred to as journal bows as they mark an individual hunter’s accomplishments. Bow drills and their decoration were used throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and provided a record of everyday life as well as the changes and interactions that came from European contact. By the late 19th century, the decoration of bow drills had dropped off in favor of other forms of engraved ivory better suited to the souvenir market. This decrease in bow drill decoration corresponded to the establishment of American trading companies following the Alaska purchase in 1867. These companies expanded the trade and market for engraved curios by reselling them to burgeoning tourist markets along the Inside Passage of southeast Alaska, and by exporting them to the West Coast of the United States.
The bow drill was used by attaching a piece of leather through the holes at one end, the leather was then wrapped around a wooden shaft that held a pointed drill tip and then the leather would be attached to the opposite side of the bow. Often the wooden shaft would be held by a mouthpiece or an assistant. The drill end was used to engrave into bone or ivory by the act of friction caused by the bow moving back and forth, turning the drill bit. See last image by Edward Curtis from King Island, circa 1920, showing how the bow drill was used.
Alaska
19th century
Length 17 3/4" with custom museum mount
Provenance: Olympia Washington Trade
Sothebys New York Lot 149 May 22, 1989 ($5500)
Mr and Mrs. Meyer Potamkin, NY
This exceptionally rare bow drill was an essential tool for Northern Indigenous carvers in the 19th century. Although many items of bone or ivory received decoration, the bow drill itself often received the most extensive engraving. This bow drill shows extensive decoration on all surfaces. These have been referred to as journal bows as they mark an individual hunter’s accomplishments. Bow drills and their decoration were used throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and provided a record of everyday life as well as the changes and interactions that came from European contact. By the late 19th century, the decoration of bow drills had dropped off in favor of other forms of engraved ivory better suited to the souvenir market. This decrease in bow drill decoration corresponded to the establishment of American trading companies following the Alaska purchase in 1867. These companies expanded the trade and market for engraved curios by reselling them to burgeoning tourist markets along the Inside Passage of southeast Alaska, and by exporting them to the West Coast of the United States.
The bow drill was used by attaching a piece of leather through the holes at one end, the leather was then wrapped around a wooden shaft that held a pointed drill tip and then the leather would be attached to the opposite side of the bow. Often the wooden shaft would be held by a mouthpiece or an assistant. The drill end was used to engrave into bone or ivory by the act of friction caused by the bow moving back and forth, turning the drill bit. See last image by Edward Curtis from King Island, circa 1920, showing how the bow drill was used.