Lot 124
124
Lots 127 - 131 The following lots were collected by Phillipa King, who as a missionary for the Moravian sect in Bethel in the 1890s. She was the first foreign woman to live ther. The objects have remained in the family since that time.
AN ESKIMO WOMAN'S HIDE BELT

Details
AN ESKIMO WOMAN'S HIDE BELT

Sealskin band decorated with a series of overlapping caribou mandibles in two parallel rows bordered on both sides with a row of blue and white beads, on the bottom twelve tooth pendants hung from red and white beaded strings decorated with a larger blue bead, an ivory toggle in the form of a seal, 32in. (81cm.) long

Lot Essay

According to Bockstoce (1977, p. 95), such belts were thought to have curing properties associated with relieving rhematic and other pains when they were struck against the afflicted parts. Ray (1975, p. 143, fig. 98) however, states that they were worn to proclaim her husband's hunting skills through the number of teeth included. Belts with one row of mandibles are more common than those with two as seen here.