photos from the move of E23549, Tlingit totem pole from Southeast
photos from the move of E54297, Tlingit totem pole from
photos from the move of E205851, Bella Coola totem pole.
The Life of an Object: The Move of Three Totem Poles in the National
Museum of Natural History
totem poles, collected by James G. Swan in the 1870’s,
were recently moved to new locations within NMNH. While not much
is known about their exhibition history we do know that they were
exhibited at the first official World’s Fair held in Philadelphia
in 1876 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence. Over the course of the Fair, ten million
visitors attended, a number equivalent to approximately twenty
percent of the American population at the time.
The young Smithsonian Institution—eager to display its
growing collections of art and technology—was well represented
at this event. Among the objects placed on display for visitors
were these three totem poles, having been collected by Swan for
the exposition. Two of the poles are Tlingit from Southeast Alaska,
(E23549) and (E54297), and the third is Bella Coola from the
Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada (E20581).
After the World’s Fair, Museum records do not document
what happened to the totem poles until the 1960’s.
From the 1960’s until 2004 these three totem poles provided
a grand and elegant entrance into the Native American exhibit
halls in the Museum of Natural History. In November, 2004, as
interior museum construction commenced, two poles (E54297 and
E205851) were moved to exhibit locations in the IMAX theatre
taken to Suitland, Maryland and placed in storage at the Smithsonian’s
Museum Support Center. Click
on the images to the left to see more images illustrating the
in moving these totem poles.
moving the totem poles, we estimated the weight using the Canadian
Conservation Institute method (CCI Notes, 6/7) of allowing 350
kg for each cubic meter and multiplying this
by pi, times the radius squared, times the height. It was necessary
to estimate the weight of lifting the poles to determine if the
floor of the new exhibit location could accommodate the weight.
Professional riggers were hired to lift them up, move them and
place them into their new locations.
move activity began at 5:30 AM, to avoid working near visitors
to the museum, who would be arriving at
10:00. One of
the Tlingit poles (E54297) was the first to be moved.
It posed the fewest problems as it was made from one piece of
riggers, from United Rigging, put masonite sheets over the museum
carpet to protect it as they worked. A rolling
scaffold was used to gain access to the upper totem pole brackets
for removal from the wall. The foreman of the rigging team examined
the pole with the conservator to determine the safest and strongest
area to hold onto the pole. The hold had to be near the middle
to establish a safe balance during the move. For this totem,
there was only one area that was acceptable, an area with no
protruding carving, and no cracking or other apparent weakness.
A thick packing quilt was wrapped around this area, strapped
with two inch wide nylon straps, and buckled into place. Another
was secured to this strap and made into a loop. Two sets of Genie
Lifts with a horizontal aluminum beam supported between them
were driven up next to the pole. The beam was placed through
everything was secure, the beam was raised over the totem pole
and the lifts very slowly moved the pole up off its
mount. When the beam and totem had reached a safe distance
from the wall, the beam was slowly lowered. The pole was hand
and gently placed into a horizontal position onto two padded
Bella Coola totem pole from British Columbia (E205851) is
made in two sections and required a rigid support on the back
to prevent strain
to the joins as it was placed in the horizontal position. The
two upraised arms on the top figure had been nailed in place,
so to prevent
movement and possible damage, Ethafoam™ blocks were
placed between the arms and the head, and plastic wrap was
to hold the arms and the Ethafoam™ blocks in place.
To additionally minimize movement in the join and hold the
two sections of the
pole firmly in place, a wooden board was strapped to the
base with two nylon straps wrapped under it and attached
securely to additional
straps under the neck of the upper figure.
being lowered onto the dollies, both poles were rolled over to
exhibit positions in the IMAX lobby. The reverse procedure
was used as
each one was slowly lifted up and onto its new mount. New
plexiglas covers were placed into slots in the backboard
and screwed into
place. The plexiglas is high, protecting the totems from
being touched. It is open above this, however, which does
to fall onto the poles. Light in the area is diffuse sunlight
and ceiling lights.
third totem pole (E23549) was to be returned
to storage, and an aluminum storage support, padded with Ethafoam™,
was built by Joel Allen and David Eustaquio of the Museum's Collections
Support staff. This support was positioned against
the back as a brace as the pole was lifted up and placed on the
horizontal. It remained on this support for its move to the Museum
Support Center and remains on it for its continued storage.
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