Bari shaft straightener
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1940.12.623
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Bahr el Jebel [Bellinian Rest House]
Cultural Group:
Bari
Date Made:
By 11th January 1922
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved , Perforated
Dimensions:
L = 407, max W = 65.3, th = 50.8, opening L = 55, W = 22 mm [RTS 28/6/2005].
Weight:
267.0 g
Local Name:
Kwit
Other Owners:
Presumably collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman and his wife Brenda Zara Seligman during their visit to the Southern Sudan in 1922. According to their personal diaries, they travelled south down the Bahr el Jebel through Mongalla and Gondokoro, arriving
Field Collector:
? Charles Gabriel Seligman & ?Brenda Zara Seligman
PRM Source:
Charles Gabriel Seligman or Brenda Zara Seligman
Acquired:
Donated 1940
Collected Date:
11th to 14th January 1922?
Description:
Shaft straightener, carved from a single piece of wood.
This has a flat end, cut at an angle, and a narrow body that tapers out to the centre, then in again to the base, which is similarly bevelled.
A rectangular opening has been cut into the centre of the object, at its widest point, with the surface of the wood sloping down towards the hole at top and base.
This slope appears on both sides.
A wooden shaft would be fitted through this hole, angled, and rubbed along these sloping areas to smooth its surface.
This particular shaft straightener was probably never used, as there is no use wear along the sloping edges of the opening, which are very roughly finished.
The object is complete, with a small crack in the wood at one end, and is currently a yellowish brown colour (Pantone 728C).
It has a weight of 267.0 grams and is 407 mm long, 65.3 mm wide across the centre and 50.8 mm thick, with an opening that measures 55 by 22 mm.
Presumably collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman and his wife Brenda Zara Seligman during their visit to the Southern Sudan in 1922. According to their personal diaries, they travelled south down the Bahr el Jebel through Mongalla and Gondokoro, arriving at the latter on January 9th, and then travelling to the Bellinian rest house on January 11th, before heading southeast towards Torit on January 14th (based on information collected by Fran Larson from the unpublished diaries of C.G. and B.Z. Seligman, in the Archives of the London School of Economics, Seligman manuscripts, files 1/4/1 and 1/4/6). It was donated to the museum in 1940.
For similar objects, see 1922.25.1 and 1940.12.624-625 (Lotuko), 1929.47.2 (Rumbek Jur).
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Presumably collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman and his wife Brenda Zara Seligman during their visit to the Southern Sudan in 1922. According to their personal diaries, they travelled south down the Bahr el Jebel through Mongalla and Gondokoro, arriving at the latter on January 9th, and then travelling to the Bellinian rest house on January 11th, before heading southeast towards Torit on January 14th (based on information collected by Fran Larson from the unpublished diaries of C.G. and B.Z. Seligman, in the Archives of the London School of Economics, Seligman manuscripts, files 1/4/1 and 1/4/6). It was donated to the museum in 1940.
For similar objects, see 1922.25.1 and 1940.12.624-625 (Lotuko), 1929.47.2 (Rumbek Jur).
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
468]
The late Professor C.G.
SELIGMAN, M.D., F.R.S.
Miscellaneous collection presented in part by himself, June, 1940, and in part, after his death, by Mrs B.Z.
Seligman, October, 1940.
[p.
503] 1940.12.623 [drawing], [p.
504] 1940.12.623 - Wooden lever for straightening spear-shafts,
kwit
, 16 ins long, made of a wood called
takwe
(Crataeva religiosa Forst.), Eastern BARI, BELINIAN village, MONGALLA PROV[INCE], A[nglo].E[gyptian].
SUDAN.
(Dr.
Seligman calls the instrument “spear sharpener”).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 12/2/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Belinian Village. Eastern BARI tribe. Wooden shaft straightener, kwit , made of takwe wood. d.d. C.G. Seligman. 1940.12.623 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 28/6/2005].
Written on object - Lever for straightening spear-shafts, kwit . BARI, BELINIAN, MONGALLA PROV., A.E. SUDAN. d.d. Dr C.G. Seligman. 1940.12.623 [RTS 28/6/2005].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 12/2/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Belinian Village. Eastern BARI tribe. Wooden shaft straightener, kwit , made of takwe wood. d.d. C.G. Seligman. 1940.12.623 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 28/6/2005].
Written on object - Lever for straightening spear-shafts, kwit . BARI, BELINIAN, MONGALLA PROV., A.E. SUDAN. d.d. Dr C.G. Seligman. 1940.12.623 [RTS 28/6/2005].
