During the 16th European Night of Museums the Department of Ethnography of Pomerania held a guessing game. The task was to figure out the use of the presented object.
This year's game was very difficult. At a glance, the object on display looked like a horseshoe, but after a closer look it was clear that it had little to do with it.
This small iron item (12 x 4 x 13,5 cm) made by a blacksmith is "a device used for putting a rim onto wooden wheels of a peasant wagon". It was used by blacksmiths and wheelwrights who cooperated during the construction of a wagon, especially at its final stage, during which wooden elements had to be joined with iron ones, made by a blacksmith. The completion of a wagon often took place in a forge and not in a wheelwright's workshop. The work involved a lot of effort. To place the iron rim tightly on the wheel, it had to be a little smaller than it. The tool was one of those that made it easier to place it properly. Its ends, bent at an angle a bit smaller than the right one, were used to hold the rim. A wheelwright or a blacksmith, holding the bent part of the tool in one hand, hit the ends with a hammer and put the rim onto the wheel. If we have a closer look at the item's ends, we will see the marks of strong hammer hits.
Like other wheelwright's tools, this one may be seen only in museums nowadays.
Wheelwrighting, which was once as popular as car mechanic's garages are nowadays, is a thing of the past. The reason of this is the factory production of wagons and rubber wheels that developed in the 1960s and 1970s.
Thank you for taking part in the competition! We received 125 responds. The riddle was a tricky one, but the ambiguity of the object stirred your imagination, which is why all had fun.
On May 16th the jury:
Elżbieta Jurska – the Manager of the NMS Department of Social,
Iwona Karwowska – the Manager of the NMS Department of Ethnography of Pomerania,
Ewa Kimak – custrodian of the NMS Department of Education,
analysed all the responses. None of them was right. Therefore the prize for the right or close-to-right answer was not awarded. Therw, howerwer, were two for the most oryginal, funny or surprising answers.
They were "grandfather's teeth stack" and "surely not a door knocker, horseshoe, hanger or handle" (which is somehow the right answer).
Thank you once again for having fun with us. Next year another object will be prepared by the Department of Ethnography of Pomerania of the National Museum in Szczecin to stir your imagination.
See the photos of the item:
