neck ornament
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1926.67.9
Country:
?Sudan
Date Made:
By 1926
Materials:
Cowrie Shell , Glass , Silk Textile Animal
Process:
?Drawn , Strung
Dimensions:
L string (doubled up) = 355 mm, Diam bead = 8.5 mm, Th bead = 7.5 mm
Weight:
239.1 g
PRM Source:
James Thomas Hooper
Acquired:
Purchased April 1926
Collected Date:
By 1926
Description:
Neck ornament comprised of a series of cowrie shells with their backs removed, strung onto silk thread in sets of two to three shells with a single translucent yellowish orange glass bead between each set (Pantone 137C).
The sequence formed is as follows: 3 glass beads, 9 sets of double cowrie shells interspersed with single beads, 13 sets of triple cowries with 13 single beads between, 14 sets of double cowries with 14 single beads between, 1 triple cowrie set with single bead, 8 double cowries with 8 single beads between, then 3 triple cowries and 2 single beads between.
The cowries are mostly plain white in colour, although a few have some light brown spots on their upper surfaces, and vary in size, while the almost spherical beads are of similar dimensions to one another and feature convex sides and large thread holes with parallel sides, suggesting that they were made by being drawn.
The silk thread is modern, being added in 2004 when several cowries were reattached (see conservation notes).
The necklace has a length of 355 mm; an average bead measures 8.5 mm in diameter and 7.5 mm in thickness, while the cowrie shells vary in length from 7.3 mm to 22 mm.
The necklace weighs 239.1 grams.
This object belonged to the collection of J.T. Hooper, and was sold to the Museum in 1926.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
This object belonged to the collection of J.T. Hooper, and was sold to the Museum in 1926.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[BIV, p.
54]
1926
[...]
J.T.
HOOPER
[...] [insert] 67 [end insert] 23 April [...] [at end of entry for 1926.67 group] P[ai]d 23 Apr[il]
1-15-0
.
[page 54a, opposite p.
54] 9 - ditto [necklet] of yellow beads & cowries, ib[idem] [?ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN]/
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 28/1/2004].
Related Documents File [James Thomas Hooper, Catalogue of Ethnographical Material ] - The museum has a photocopy of Hooper's accession and dispersal records, which are bound as two volumes and kept in a separate box file. Items are arranged according to Hooper's own numbering system [RTS 21/11/2003].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Necklet of cowries and beads, ?E. SUDAN. Pur. 1926 (Hooper) [rectangular metal-edged tag, tied to object]. Necklet of cowries & beads, ?ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN, Pur. 1926 (Hooper) [Paper label stuck to front of metal tin in which object had been stored; not kept with object; RTS 25/5/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 28/1/2004].
Related Documents File [James Thomas Hooper, Catalogue of Ethnographical Material ] - The museum has a photocopy of Hooper's accession and dispersal records, which are bound as two volumes and kept in a separate box file. Items are arranged according to Hooper's own numbering system [RTS 21/11/2003].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Necklet of cowries and beads, ?E. SUDAN. Pur. 1926 (Hooper) [rectangular metal-edged tag, tied to object]. Necklet of cowries & beads, ?ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN, Pur. 1926 (Hooper) [Paper label stuck to front of metal tin in which object had been stored; not kept with object; RTS 25/5/2004].
