miniature kayak

unrecorded Kalaallit (Greenland Inuit) artist, artist

miniature kayak, mid 1800s–1895

Where object was made: Greenland

Material/technique: wood; sealskin; ivory; sinew; cloth

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 15 x 34 x 95 cm
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 5 7/8 x 13 3/8 x 37 3/8 in

Credit line: Gift of Lewis Lindsay Dyche

Accession number: 2007.0558

On display: Long Ellis Gallery

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Label texts

Collection Cards: STEM

This is a miniature version of a kayak, the type of boat Inuit people from Greenland used for hunting at sea. Miniature kayaks were often given to the sons of hunters as a symbol of their future role. Designed to float in extremely cold water and fit the body shape of the hunter, traditional kayaks were built with driftwood and covered in sealskin. The materials, shape, and size of the kayak show how the Inuit used local resources. Today, kayaks are commonly made from fiberglass and plastic.

Have you ever been on a boat or some sort of water-vehicle? What was it like?
Can you name an object that would float in water? What properties, for example shape or material, help it float?

Soundings: Making Culture at Sea

Indigenous cultures from the Arctic to South America and beyond have long had intimate relations with their companion ocean waters. Such diverse cultures have distinct ways of navigating the ocean and describing its role in their daily life and culture. Small model boats and other crafted items representing the sea served as teaching tools and talismans. Some were also designed to sell to foreigners as a way to support the maker and their community.

Exhibition Label:
"Climate Change at the Poles," Jan-2009, Kate Meyer, Jennifer Talbott, and Angela Watts
This miniature kayak provides an excellent representation of what a well-equipped kayak
would look like when an Inuit man was hunting at sea. Miniature kayaks were often made by fathers as toys for their sons, in part as preparation for their future roles as hunters. These miniatures were also very popular trade items, purchased by sailors and explorers to take back to the south and show their friends and families a sampling of Inuit life.