An Inuit arrow made from salvaged material from the Franklin Expedition
An Inuit arrow made from salvaged material from the 1845 British Northwest Passage Expedition led by Sir John Franklin. The arrow has an elliptical iron blade riveted to an antler foreshaft, lashed to a wooden shaft with sinew. It retains its two flight feathers also attached with sinew.
The arrow was bartered from a group of Inuit by Captain F. L. McClintock's sledge team on 3 March 1859 near Cape Victoria, Boothia Peninsula. Here the sledge team met about 45 Inuit who bartered relics in exchange for knives, files, scissors, beads &c... McClintock recorded in the Appendix 'Some bows and arrows, in which wood, iron or copper has been used in the construction - of no other interest [...] Bows and arrows were readily exchanged for knives.' [McClintock, The Voyage of the Fox (1859), p369-370].
The arrow was displayed at the Royal Naval Museum, Greenwich, 'Case 5, No. 5. Three arrows'. The item is shown in - 'Stereoscopic slides of the relics of Sir John Franklin's Expedition' photographed by Lieutenant Cheyne RN, at the United Services Museum, Whitehall, No. 10 (Above the handle-less knife blade).
The arrow was bartered from a group of Inuit by Captain F. L. McClintock's sledge team on 3 March 1859 near Cape Victoria, Boothia Peninsula. Here the sledge team met about 45 Inuit who bartered relics in exchange for knives, files, scissors, beads &c... McClintock recorded in the Appendix 'Some bows and arrows, in which wood, iron or copper has been used in the construction - of no other interest [...] Bows and arrows were readily exchanged for knives.' [McClintock, The Voyage of the Fox (1859), p369-370].
The arrow was displayed at the Royal Naval Museum, Greenwich, 'Case 5, No. 5. Three arrows'. The item is shown in - 'Stereoscopic slides of the relics of Sir John Franklin's Expedition' photographed by Lieutenant Cheyne RN, at the United Services Museum, Whitehall, No. 10 (Above the handle-less knife blade).
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Object Details
ID: | AAA2109 |
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Collection: | World Cultures; Polar Equipment and Relics |
Type: | Arrow |
Display location: | Display - Polar Worlds Gallery |
Creator: | Unknown |
Events: | Arctic Exploration: Franklin's Last Expedition, 1845-1848; Arctic Exploration: Franklin Search Expedition, McClintock, 1857-1859 |
Vessels: | Fox (1855) |
Date made: | 1848-1859 |
Exhibition: | North-West Passage |
Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. |
Measurements: | Overall: 533 x 13 mm |