Photo By Kare Lohse

KUNSTKAMERA

Kunstkamera 1 in the past, the name for various collections of historical, artistic, and natural-science rarities and the places that housed them. In the 16th and 17th centuries, many princely and royal courts had their own Kunstkameras. The term is no longer used. Peter I founded a Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg in 1714; it opened in 1719. Originally it primarily contained objects from Peter’s private collections, acquired during his travels in Western Europe, but it was soon supplemented by a variety of national and foreign materials. In 1724 the Kunstkamera was made part of the Academy of Sciences and transformed into a multifaceted museum. In 1727 the collections were relocated in a single building designed and built for them. In the 1830’s, because of the abundance of materials, the Kunstkamera was divided into several museums by subject, including anatomy, ethnography, botany, and zoology. The Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR inherited the Kunstkamera’s ethnographical and anatomical collections and its premises. REFERENCES Lipman, A. Petrovskaia Kunstkamera. Moscow-Leningrad, 1945. Staniukovich, T. V. Kunstkamera Peterburgskoi AN. Moscow-Leningrad, 1953. T. V. STANIUKOVICH 1 The Free Dictionary
Originally Published: 01/26/2017 18:40
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Ray Hudson submitted a reference to a book he’d procured (which is NOT commonly available) titled “Kunstkamera Aleuty: Catalog Kollekcii Kunstkamery [The Aleutians: Kunstkamera’s Collections Catalogue] Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), St.Petersburg, 2014.” From his reference we linked to the Museum’s web page: http://www.kunstkamera.ru/kunst-catalogue/index.seam?page=1&c=ALEUT&cid=1437 and finally to: http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/kunstkammer-museum-antropology-ethnography/ Having reviewed their Aleutian’s photos, we asked permission to post a small selection of their photos relating to the Aleutian Island natives on our website. Permission was granted by Dr. Julia A. Kupina, Deputy Director of MAE RAS, on 1/24/2017, allowing us to post these photos. These are high-definition, well-detailed images portraying the skills and talents of the Aleut peoples who have lived in the Aleutian Islands for over 9,000 years! Click on image for page-sized images/slideshow, magnifying glass for full-sized image in separate window.
Aleutians: Ritual Mask, MAE RAS No. 538-1 Aleutians: Ritual Mask, MAE RAS No. 538-1 Aleutians: Ritual Mask, MAE RAS No. 538-1

Ritual Mask, The Western Aleutians.

Museum inventory number: No. 538-1 Title: The Western Aleutians Ethnicity: The Western Aleutians Place: USA, Russian America Geography: North America, The North-West of the continent, Alaska, The Aleutian Islands, The Adreanof Islands, Atka Island. Date: 18th Century. Collector: Arkhimandritov Illarion Ivanovich, navigator of Russian-American Company. Materials: Wood, paint. Dimensions: height 26.5 cm (10.43”), width 26.5 cm (10.43”), side width 15.5 cm (6.1”)

Peak. Aleutians

Museum inventorty number: No. 4104-1 Title: Peak Ethnicity: Aleutians Place: USA, Russian America Geography: North America, The North-West of the continent, Alaska, The Aleutian Islands, The Adreanof Islands, Atka Island. Date: 19th Century. Collector: Unknown sailor. Expedition: Russian circumnavigations and half round-the-world sea expeditions. Materials: Wood, ivory, sea lion whisker, beads, paint Dimensions: height 10.5 cm (4.13”), width 18.5 cm (7.28”), length 43.5cm (17.13”)
Aleutians: Peak. MAE RAS: No. 4104-4. Aleutians: Peak. MAE RAS: No. 4104-4. Aleutians: Peak. MAE RAS: No. 4104-4.

Cloack. Aleutians

Museum inventorty number: No. 4104-82 Title: Cloack Ethnicity: Aleutians Place: USA, Russian America Geography: North America, The North-West of the continent, Alaska, The Aleutian Islands, The Adreanof Islands. Date: 19th Century. Collector: Unknown sailor. Expedition: Russian circumnavigations and half round-the-world sea expeditions. Materials: Leather, sinew, intestine of a sea lion, deer hair, paint, wool thread. Dimensions: Length 137 cm (53.94”), width of hem 136 cm (53.54”), width of shoulders 74 cm (29.13”), Collar width 23 cm (9.06”) height 11 cm (4.33”)
Aleutians: Hunting Kamleika. MAE RAS No. 4104-81. Aleutians: Hunting Kamleika. MAE RAS No. 4104-81. Aleutians: Hunting Kamleika. MAE RAS No. 4104-81.

Hunting Kamleika. Aleutians

Museum inventorty number: No. 4104-81 Title: Hunting kamlelika. Ethnicity: Aleutians Place: USA, Russian America Geography: North America, The North-West of the continent, Alaska, The Aleutian Islands, The Adreanof Islands. Date: 19th Century. Collector: Unknown sailor. Expedition: Russian circumnavigations and half round-the-world sea expeditions. Materials: Leather, sinew, intestine of a sea lion, paint. Dimensions: Length 138 cm (54.33”), width with sleeves 160 cm (62.99”), width of hem 81 cm (31.89”), width of turns 20cm (7.87”), Cowl: height 41 cm (16.14”), width 35 cm (13.78”)
Aleutians: Cloack. MAE RAS No. 4104-82. Aleutians: Cloack. MAE RAS No. 4104-82. Aleutians: Cloack. MAE RAS No. 4104-82.

Basket. Aleutians

Museum inventorty number: No. 4104-99 Title: Basket. Ethnicity: Aleutians. Place: USA, Russian America. Geography: North America, The North-West of the continent, Alaska, The Aleutian Islands. Date: 19th Century. Collector: Unknown sailor. Expedition: Russian circumnavigations and half round-the-world sea expeditions. Materials: Lyme grass stem, paint. Dimensions: Height 29 cm (11.42“), width 45 cm (17.72”), diameter bottom 31 cm (12.20“)
Aleutians: Basket. MAE RAS No. 4104-99 Aleutians: Basket. MAE RAS No. 4104-99 Aleutians: Basket. MAE RAS No. 4104-99

Model of two-hatched kayak. Aleutians

Museum inventorty number: No. 2867-37 Title: Model of two-hatched kayak. Ethnicity: Aleutians. Place: Kamchatka territory (kray), Aleutian district, Komandorskiye Islands. Geography: East Asia, Bering strait, Commander Islands. Date: 1887-1890. Collector: Unknown sailor. Expedition: Bunge Alexander, naturalist, zoologist, traveller. Materials: Wood, ivory, sinew, bone, paint, gullet of a sea lion, iron, cotton thread. Dimensions: Length 37.5 cm (14.76“), width 5.2 cm (2.05“), height 3.5 cm ( 1.38“); height with figurines 9.8 cm (3.86“)
Aleutians: Model of two-hatched kayak. MAE RAS No. 2867-37 Aleutians: Model of two-hatched kayak. MAE RAS No. 2867-37 Aleutians: Model of two-hatched kayak. MAE RAS No. 2867-37

Light harpoons for hunting sea otters

Museum inventorty number: No. 593-90/1, 90/2, 90/3, 90/4, 90/5, 90/6. Title: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. Ethnicity: Aleutians. Place: Akun Island Geography: Aleutians Date: 1843. Collector: I. G. Voznesensky Materials: Wood, paint, deer horn, ivory, birchbark, sinew. Dimensions: length 139.3 cm (54.84”). Head of shaft: length 27.3 cm (10.75”), diam. 1.7 cm (0.67”). Blade: length 5.8 cm (2.28”), width 0.9 cm (0.35”). № 593–90/2: length 138 cm (54.33”). Head of shaft: length 28.3 cm (11.14”), diam.1.6 cm (0.63”). Blade: length 3.4 cm (1.34”), width 0.8 cm (0.31”). № 593–90/3: length 138.3 cm (54.44”). Head of shaft: length 28.3 cm (11.14”), diam. 1.7 cm (1.7”). Blade: length 5.7 cm (2.24”), width 0.9 cm (0.35”). № 593–90/4: length 136 cm (53.54”). Head of shaft: length 25.8 cm (10.16”), diam.1.7 cm (0.67”). № 593–90/5: length138.8 cm (54.65”). Head of shaft: length 29 cm (11.42”), diam.1.7 cm (0.67”). Blade: length 7 cm (2.76”), width 0.9 cm (0.35”).
Aleutians: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. MAE RAS 593-90/1,2,3,4,5,6 Aleutians: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. MAE RAS 593-90/1,2,3,4,5,6 Aleutians: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. MAE RAS 593-90/1,2,3,4,5,6

Light harpoons for hunting sea otters

Museum inventorty number: No. 593-90/1, 90/2, 90/3, 90/4, 90/5, 90/6. Title: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. Ethnicity: Aleutians. Place: Akun Island Geography: Aleutians Date: 1843. Collector: I. G. Voznesensky Materials: Wood, paint, deer horn, ivory, birchbark, sinew. Dimensions: length 139.3 cm (54.84”). Head of shaft: length 27.3 cm (10.75”), diam. 1.7 cm (0.67”). Blade: length 5.8 cm (2.28”), width 0.9 cm (0.35”). № 593–90/2: length 138 cm (54.33”). Head of shaft: length 28.3 cm (11.14”), diam.1.6 cm (0.63”). Blade: length 3.4 cm (1.34”), width 0.8 cm (0.31”). № 593–90/3: length 138.3 cm (54.44”). Head of shaft: length 28.3 cm (11.14”), diam. 1.7 cm (1.7”). Blade: length 5.7 cm (2.24”), width 0.9 cm (0.35”). № 593–90/4: length 136 cm (53.54”). Head of shaft: length 25.8 cm (10.16”), diam.1.7 cm (0.67”). № 593–90/5: length138.8 cm (54.65”). Head of shaft: length 29 cm (11.42”), diam.1.7 cm (0.67”). Blade: length 7 cm (2.76”), width 0.9 cm (0.35”).
Aleutians: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. MAE RAS 593-90/1,2,3,4,5,6 Aleutians: Light harpoons for hunting sea otters. MAE RAS 593-90/1,2,3,4,5,6