Wooden Whale
Part of Hall of Asian Peoples.
Part of Hall of Asian Peoples.
This small carved wood whale was collected in Siberia in 1901 by Russian ethnographer Waldemar Jochelson for the Museum’s Jesup North Pacific Expedition.
While conducting field work, Jochelson witnessed a Koryak ceremony, in which a similar figurine was used as a charm and whale body parts were “sent home to the sea” to encourage other whales to return.