Museum catalogue: Polar Art Collection

Koukok or Kat Indian (Gwich'in), west of Mackenzie River, 1854


Accession no.:	Y: 83/11/24
Title:	Koukok or Kat Indian (Gwich'in), west of Mackenzie River, 1854
Description:	From a collection of watercolours and assorted sketches by Edward Adams, assistant surgeon on HMS Investigator, part of James Clark Ross's expedition, 1848-49, and on HMS Enterprise under Richard Collinson, 1850-55. After his experience in the Arctic, Adams passed his medical exams, and travelled to west Africa in May 1856 aboard the steampship Hecla. He died there of typhus, and was buried at Sierra Leone. The items of personal adornment worn by this Gwich'in man reflect is status and wealth. Dentalium shell, used as nose ornaments, earrings and clothing decoration, was imported from the Pacific coast of North America and illustrates the long-established trade networks that existed before the arrival of Europeans.
Medium:	Watercolour
Artist:	Adams, Edward
Note:	This collection passed into the possession of Francis Skead, lieutenant on Enterprise, 1850-55. The writing on most of the sheets can be identified as Skead's, on comparison with text in his private journals. The collection was presented to SPRI by his grandson C.J. Skead in October 1985.
Dimensions:	Image: Width: 164mm; height: 230mm