Iron pellet bell
Accession Number:
1884.108.28
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan?]
Date Made:
?Before 1858
Materials:
Iron Metal
Process:
Cast
Other Owners:
Obtained by John Petherick in the Sudan in 1858 and shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently obtained by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction as Petherick is known to have auctioned some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27
Field Collector:
John Petherick
PRM Source:
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Acquired:
Donated 1884
Collected Date:
1858
Description:
Small bell made of sheet iron doubled over to form a pod-shaped body, pointed at either end, with two holes at the back for a hide suspension thong and a slit running across the mouth; this encloses a large pellet inside.
Obtained by John Petherick in the Sudan in 1858 and shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently obtained by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction as Petherick is known to have auctioned some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). 6 groups of bells were included in this auction, as parts of lot numbers 42, 100, 103 and 117, most of which were associated with the Dinka. Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, probably in 1874. It was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
Obtained by John Petherick in the Sudan in 1858 and shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently obtained by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction as Petherick is known to have auctioned some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). 6 groups of bells were included in this auction, as parts of lot numbers 42, 100, 103 and 117, most of which were associated with the Dinka. Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, probably in 1874. It was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book V entry
[p.
45]
-
[insert] 1884.108 Numbers begining with 18...
(4 figures) are
black
series) [end insert]
MUSIC PERCUSSION
[insert] From H.B's written book catalogues except those marked X [end insert] PELLET BELLS [insert] 28 [end insert] 1859? - Small bell of sheet iron, pod-shaped (pointed each side) with large pellet.
C.
AFRICA
.
Petherick coll.
1858.
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 197] [insert] 1884.108.28 [end insert] 1859. Small sheet iron bell pod-shaped (pointed) with large pellet C[entral] A[frica].
Black book entry [p. 81] - 1859. Iron bell & crotal, Central Africa. Obtd by Petherick. [insert] 1884.108.28 [end insert].
Added Black book entry [p. 81a] - Crotal (Gr Krotalon - a rattle). "Crotalum also called cropitaculum [sic] was a sonorous instrument of wood anciently serving the purpose of a bell amongst Greeks".
Balfour Catalogue: Red numbers Musical Instruments - [p. 2] 129. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - PERCUSSION. [p. 194] M - BELLS (LOOSE CLAPPERS] [insert] PELLET [end insert]. P.R. coll. 1859 [insert] black [end insert]. Small iron bell of sheet iron bent over upon itself to enclose a space, the edges not meeting, but close enough to confine a large loose pellet; upper edge straight with turned up ends; 2 holes for hide thong. Central Africa, Obt[aine]d by Consul Petherick c. 1858. [insert] P.R.V.45. 12c).M.1. [end insert].
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 197] [insert] 1884.108.28 [end insert] 1859. Small sheet iron bell pod-shaped (pointed) with large pellet C[entral] A[frica].
Black book entry [p. 81] - 1859. Iron bell & crotal, Central Africa. Obtd by Petherick. [insert] 1884.108.28 [end insert].
Added Black book entry [p. 81a] - Crotal (Gr Krotalon - a rattle). "Crotalum also called cropitaculum [sic] was a sonorous instrument of wood anciently serving the purpose of a bell amongst Greeks".
Balfour Catalogue: Red numbers Musical Instruments - [p. 2] 129. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - PERCUSSION. [p. 194] M - BELLS (LOOSE CLAPPERS] [insert] PELLET [end insert]. P.R. coll. 1859 [insert] black [end insert]. Small iron bell of sheet iron bent over upon itself to enclose a space, the edges not meeting, but close enough to confine a large loose pellet; upper edge straight with turned up ends; 2 holes for hide thong. Central Africa, Obt[aine]d by Consul Petherick c. 1858. [insert] P.R.V.45. 12c).M.1. [end insert].
Display History:
Displayed in the Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums (V&A) [AP].
