Of Goavddis and Runic calendars

Abstract

Sámi artefacts are today exhibited in numerous European museums. Since the Renaissance, members of the educated elites were fascinated by the North and acquired Sámi items for their private cabinets of curiosities. Over the centuries most of these collections were dispersed. In a few cases though, some of the items once in these modern collections re-emerged from the past, to be displayed in contemporary museums. This is the case for a few Sámi artefacts currently part of Italian and Vatican collections: a goavddis and a Sámi runic calendar. The paper retraces the stories and histories of these objects, addressing colonial practices and ideologies connected with the acquisition of Indigenous artefacts in Modern Europe. In doing so, this contribution highlights how the presence of these coveted commodities in early museums bore witness to entangled colonial histories.