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Lot 40*
BOUCHON DE PLAIE YUPIK OU INUPIAT, ALASKA
15 – 25 September 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €7,040 inc. premium
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BOUCHON DE PLAIE YUPIK OU INUPIAT, ALASKA
bois
Longueur: 32 cm.
INUIT WOUND PLUG
Alaska
Provenance
Ron Nasser, New York, novembre 1987
Longueur: 32 cm.
INUIT WOUND PLUG
Alaska
Provenance
Ron Nasser, New York, novembre 1987
Footnotes
Selon Edward William Nelson (The Eskimo about Bering Strait, 1899, pp. 130-131), ce type de bouchon de plaie était utilisé par les chasseurs inuit lors de la chasse aux phoques afin d'assurer la flottabilité des animaux trop maigres pour flotter naturellement une fois tués. De petites incisions étaient pratiquées dans la peau, l'air était insufflé sous la couche de graisse, puis des bouchons de bois, tel le présent lot, étaient insérés afin d'empêcher l'air de s'échapper, permettant ainsi de remorquer l'animal sans risque de le perdre.
Un exemplaire comparable également orné d'une tête de phoque et datant du XIXe siècle, a intégré en 1980 la collection du Sainsbury Center de l'Université d'East Anglia (voir Hooper, S., Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, 1997, p.245).
Un autre bouchon de plaie similaire fut collecté par Miner W. Bruce en 1892-93 à Port Clarence (voir VanStone, J., The Bruce Collection of eskimo Material Culture from Port Clarence, Alaska, Chicago, 1976, p.75, pl.6, fig.g).
According to Edward William Nelson (The Eskimo about Bering Strait, 1899, pp.130-131), this type of wound plug was used by Inuit hunters during seal hunts to ensure the buoyancy of animals too lean to float naturally once killed. Small incisions were made in the animal's skin, air was blown beneath the layer of blubber, and wooden plugs, such as the present example, were inserted to prevent the air from escaping, thus allowing the animal to be towed without risk of loss.
A comparable example, also decorated with a seal's head and dating from the 19th century, entered the collection of the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, in 1980 (see Hooper, S., Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, 1997, p.245).
Another similar wound plug was collected by Miner W. Bruce in 1892–93 at Port Clarence (see VanStone, J., The Bruce Collection of Eskimo Material Culture from Port Clarence, Alaska, Chicago, 1976, p.75, pl.6, fig.g).
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