Imatong waist ornament

Imatong waist ornament
Other views of this artifact:


Accession Number:
1940.7.083
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [Al Istiwa'iyah] [Equatoria] Eastern Equatoria ?Jebel Imatong
Cultural Group:
[Imatong]
Date Made:
By 1940
Materials:
Grass Fibre Plant , String
Process:
Twisted , Plaited , Bound , Knotted
Dimensions:
L = 895, diam binding = 8.3, tied W = 5.3, th = 3.8, diam individual strings = 1 mm [RTS 30/3/2005].
Weight:
26.5 g
Other Owners:
Samuel P. Powell
Field Collector:
Samuel P. Powell
PRM Source:
Samuel P. Powell
Acquired:
Loaned July 1940
Collected Date:
By 1940
Description:
Waist ornament made from a series of around 44 grass fibre strings, each composed of 2 strands of brown fibre twisted together (Pantone 463C). These have been laid side by side to create the body, then gathered together at either end, where they were plaited to form single ties with a knot at one end to prevent the fibres unravelling; the other has been left loose. The junction between body and tie was further strengthened with a tight cylindrical string binding. The object is essentially complete, although one of the string segments has broken at the centre; there is also brown surface dirt coating much of the body. The object has a weight of 26.5 grams, and is 895 mm long; the bound areas have a diameter of 8.3 mm, the plaited ties measure 5.3 by 3.8 mm wide, and each component string in the body is 1 mm wide.

Collected by Samuel P. Powell from the modern administrative district of Eastern Equatoria, and
loaned to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1940. It came from the 'Imatong tribe', who are presumably a group located somewhere around Jebel Imatong, a mountain peak in Southeastern Sudan, south of Torit.

Rachael Sparks 14/9/2005.

Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry [Loans II, p. 308] - ESTATE OF S.P. POWELL, C/O N.H. HASLAM, Esq. Manager, Westminster Bank, Stony Stratford, Bucks. Collected by himself. Data from his labels and notes. [p. 313] From the IMATONG TRIBE. EQUATORIAL PROVINCE, ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. 1940.7.083 - String girdle.

Related Documents File - Appears on undated typed list: "Imatong ... girdle of string". List is annotated by hand on back: "List of Curios" and "Far from complete" [RTS 16/12/2003].

Pitt Rivers Museum label - String Girdle, IMATONG. S.P. Powell, 1940.7.083 [brown luggage tag, tied to object; RTS 30/3/2005].



 
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