Zande book-end
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1996.53.1
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan?] Western Equatoria ?Li Rangu [?Dingba ?Yambio ?near Tambura]
Cultural Group:
Zande
Maker:
Probably Mbitim
Date Made:
By 1933
Materials:
Pottery
Process:
Modelled , Handbuilt , Fire-Hardened , Decorated , Incised
Dimensions:
Ht = 155, base L = 160, base W = 113, base th = 14 mm [RTS 4/4/2005].
Weight:
>1000 g
Other Owners:
Acquired by Percy Horace Gordon Powell Cotton in the Southern Sudan between 27th and 29th April 1933; sent to Quex House, Birchington, Kent on 6th October 1933 for distribution; allocated to the Pitt Rivers Museum, but retained accidentally until error di
Field Collector:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and Hannah Powell-Cotton (nee Brayton)
PRM Source:
Powell-Cotton Museum
Acquired:
Donated 12 1996
Collected Date:
27th to 29th April 1933
Description:
Pottery book-end hand made from a moderately well levigated with small to large gold mica inclusions throughout, fired mottled pinkish brown and black at the surface (Pantone 7525C and black 7C).
It has been built from 2 rectangular slabs of clay, the longer one laid horizontally to form the base and the second placed at right angles to one end of this to form a nearly vertical back piece, creating an L-shaped frame.
The flat side edges of this frame have been decorated with incised designs, each side consisting of 2 horizontal lines divided into a series of squares by pairs of vertical lines, and filled with crosses, also made of double lines.
At the front of the book-end, in the angle created by the 2 slabs, a seated figure of a young girl has been modelled from the same fabric.
She has been made in high relief, with the back of the head, torso, upper arms and legs attached to the back and base pieces, while the lower arms have been modelled in the round and stand free from the surface.
The head projects slightly above and onto the top of the flat back support.
The style is naturalistic, and the face has been well modelled, with the hair divided into a series of rows running back over the head, with small raised crests at the front of each row.
Lentoid eyes, a small nose, lips, cheeks, chin and ears are all well defined, with incised lines adding details to the hairstyle and facial features and 2 small impressions marking the nostrils.
2 incised lines mark the edge of the hair, with impressed dots marking facial scarring patterns that consist of a vertical line down the centre of the brow, 2 arching lines over the eyebrows, 3 groups of dots down each cheek and dots down each temples, with 2 rectangular blocks of incised lines on either side of the mouth.
The figure faces forwards, with her arms held out from the sides and flexed at the elbows, with the palms resting flat against the ground; these have five fingers on each hand.
The body has been well modelled, to show rounded shoulders and bulbous breasts, with a small raised area for the navel.
Body scarring is indicated by rows of dots, in a v-shape over the chests, with a Y-shape running below this and extending down to the navel, where it splits into 2 short horizontal rows on either side.
There are a further 3 rows around her right arm, and 2 rows around her left, a row around each upper thigh and another row just above the knees.
The feet are short and rather angular, with incisions marking out five stubby toes on each foot.
She is dressed in a front apron, with a double strip of clay marking out the waist band, and a rectangular piece making the apron body below, which has an incised line marking its outside edge.
There is a small rectangular tab at the centre of the front, similarly outlined.
The object is complete and intact, and in very good condition; the surface appears to have been burnished.
It is 155 mm high, with the base measuring 160 mm long, 113 mm wide and 14 mm thick.
Acquired by Percy Horace Gordon Powell Cotton in the Southern Sudan between 27th and 29th April 1933; sent to Quex House, Birchington, Kent on 6th October 1933 for distribution; allocated to the Pitt Rivers Museum, but retained accidentally until error discovered by Derek Howlett, curator of the Powell-Cotton Museum around 23rd October 1996 and object sent on to the Pitt Rivers Museum later that year. This object appears to have been treated in the original Powell-Cotton lists at Quex House as the pair to male book-end 1934.8.135, despite a slight difference in size, and as such, was most probably acquired in Western Equatoria at the same time, at one of the four places he recorded collecting objects from: Li Rangu, Dingba, Yambio or on the road to Tambura. Although the records do not specify the maker's name, the work appears to be characteristic of a Zande potter called Mbitim, who Powell-Cotton visited at Li Rangu on 28th April 1933, and that seems to be the most likely provenance for this piece. A similar pair of book-ends by this potter are now in the British Museum (accession number 1934.3.8.25-26, see E. Schildkrout & C.A. Keim, 1990, African Reflections, p. 231). By the time Powell-Cotton visited it, Li Rangu had become a centre of foreign contact for the district, something that is reflected well in this type of product (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
Powell-Cotton filmed Mbitim at work; a commentary on that film describes him as follows: "'Mbitim', was an artist of exceptional skill and originality. His pots, jars and dishes were of varied and beautiful form, many decorated with Zande heads and figures, each one distinct, true to type and with its own definite personality. He worked swiftly with his fingers, and a split wood spatula; the only other tools were an achatina shell for the nostrils, and a fragment of gourd. The clay was very light in colour. This man's services are now pledged to the Sleeping Sickness Station at Lirangu, where he is encouraged to make book-ends and other objects of European design, but his work still remains individual" (Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). They collected several potter's tools and samples of unfired clay from Mbitim, now in the museum collection (see 1934.8.132), as well as a selection of his products. For vessels in the Pitt Rivers Museum that may have been produced by Mbitim, see anthropomorphic jars 1934.8.134, 1950.12.117-118 and bowls 1930.86.43-44, and 1931.66.2-3. Other examples of Mbitim's work may be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996.301-302) and the British Museum (1934.3-8.27 and 1931.3-21.48).
The figure on this book-end is modelled in very high relief, and some parts, such as the arms, are sculpted in the round. It is possible that the blackened areas of the surface have been produced using the graphite ball found in Mbitim's tool kit (see 1934.8.132.8). The style of manufacture matches that seen on its pair, 1934.8.135, with similarities including the posture of the two figures, the Y-shaped line of body scarring, the way of detailing the ears and the facial features, the execution in finishing the hands and the designs used to border the edges of the book-end body. There is a slight difference of posture with regard to the legs, which are bent on the boy figure with the feet pointing outwards, and held straight with the toes pointing upwards on the girl figure. The female book-end is also slightly taller.
Larken discusses Zande customs regarding the collection and working of clay. Clay is usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools are limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing; decoration is applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes two kinds of vessels that are made, one with a low collar around the mouth, and another with a bow-shaped neck (see 1931.66.2-3). The smaller pots are said to be used for cooking meat, the larger ones for water or making bakinde; other pots are for brewing beer, while long-necked varieties are used for washing the face and hands - this last type may have a head adorning the neck. Each type has its own Zande name. Decoration often covers the whole surface. Larken goes on to describe the firing and finishing: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
Another characteristic of Zande pottery is that it is frequently mixed with small flecks of mica, which naturally occurs in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning ' slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of Mbitim demonstrates.
According to Larken, Zande men and women both practised cicatrisation, but 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring.
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
Acquired by Percy Horace Gordon Powell Cotton in the Southern Sudan between 27th and 29th April 1933; sent to Quex House, Birchington, Kent on 6th October 1933 for distribution; allocated to the Pitt Rivers Museum, but retained accidentally until error discovered by Derek Howlett, curator of the Powell-Cotton Museum around 23rd October 1996 and object sent on to the Pitt Rivers Museum later that year. This object appears to have been treated in the original Powell-Cotton lists at Quex House as the pair to male book-end 1934.8.135, despite a slight difference in size, and as such, was most probably acquired in Western Equatoria at the same time, at one of the four places he recorded collecting objects from: Li Rangu, Dingba, Yambio or on the road to Tambura. Although the records do not specify the maker's name, the work appears to be characteristic of a Zande potter called Mbitim, who Powell-Cotton visited at Li Rangu on 28th April 1933, and that seems to be the most likely provenance for this piece. A similar pair of book-ends by this potter are now in the British Museum (accession number 1934.3.8.25-26, see E. Schildkrout & C.A. Keim, 1990, African Reflections, p. 231). By the time Powell-Cotton visited it, Li Rangu had become a centre of foreign contact for the district, something that is reflected well in this type of product (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
Powell-Cotton filmed Mbitim at work; a commentary on that film describes him as follows: "'Mbitim', was an artist of exceptional skill and originality. His pots, jars and dishes were of varied and beautiful form, many decorated with Zande heads and figures, each one distinct, true to type and with its own definite personality. He worked swiftly with his fingers, and a split wood spatula; the only other tools were an achatina shell for the nostrils, and a fragment of gourd. The clay was very light in colour. This man's services are now pledged to the Sleeping Sickness Station at Lirangu, where he is encouraged to make book-ends and other objects of European design, but his work still remains individual" (Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). They collected several potter's tools and samples of unfired clay from Mbitim, now in the museum collection (see 1934.8.132), as well as a selection of his products. For vessels in the Pitt Rivers Museum that may have been produced by Mbitim, see anthropomorphic jars 1934.8.134, 1950.12.117-118 and bowls 1930.86.43-44, and 1931.66.2-3. Other examples of Mbitim's work may be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996.301-302) and the British Museum (1934.3-8.27 and 1931.3-21.48).
The figure on this book-end is modelled in very high relief, and some parts, such as the arms, are sculpted in the round. It is possible that the blackened areas of the surface have been produced using the graphite ball found in Mbitim's tool kit (see 1934.8.132.8). The style of manufacture matches that seen on its pair, 1934.8.135, with similarities including the posture of the two figures, the Y-shaped line of body scarring, the way of detailing the ears and the facial features, the execution in finishing the hands and the designs used to border the edges of the book-end body. There is a slight difference of posture with regard to the legs, which are bent on the boy figure with the feet pointing outwards, and held straight with the toes pointing upwards on the girl figure. The female book-end is also slightly taller.
Larken discusses Zande customs regarding the collection and working of clay. Clay is usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools are limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing; decoration is applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes two kinds of vessels that are made, one with a low collar around the mouth, and another with a bow-shaped neck (see 1931.66.2-3). The smaller pots are said to be used for cooking meat, the larger ones for water or making bakinde; other pots are for brewing beer, while long-necked varieties are used for washing the face and hands - this last type may have a head adorning the neck. Each type has its own Zande name. Decoration often covers the whole surface. Larken goes on to describe the firing and finishing: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
Another characteristic of Zande pottery is that it is frequently mixed with small flecks of mica, which naturally occurs in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning ' slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of Mbitim demonstrates.
According to Larken, Zande men and women both practised cicatrisation, but 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring.
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Original Accession Entry
- Pottery book-end with seated female figure with characteristic Zande coiffure, cicatrization marks etc.
This is the pair to 1934.8.135 (donated to the PRM by the collector in 1934).
Apparently, it was supposed to have been sent to Balfour at the PRM with its pair but remained at the Powell-Cotton Museum instead.
The pair were reunited at the suggestion of the Curator of the Powell-Cotton Museum, Derek Howlett, following correspondence with Jeremy Coote regarding the Powell-Cotton collection at the PRM (see RDF).
Collector's number 1091 [JC 24/12/1996].
Related Documents File - Letter from Derek R. Howlett, Curator of The Powell-Cotton Museum, to Dr Jones, Director of PRM, dated 9th October 1996, regarding a visit by Powell-Cotton to the Sudan in 1923 [sic] and the subsequent distribution of Zande material from that visit on 6th October 1933. A packing list of Zande objects that were received at the Quex House on 6/10/1933 is enclosed; this object appears in the entry: "B.1091, Book ends, pairs [male symbol] and [female symbol] figures". Howlett suggests that this 'B' stood for 'Balfour' and asked if the PRM had all the objects so annotated. A reply was sent by Jeremy Coote to Howlett, dated 14th October 1996, confirming that the three items were now at the PRM. A further letter from Howlett, dated 23rd October 1996, states that one of the two book-ends (1091) was still at the Powell-Cotton Museum; he offers to send it on to the PRM; this offer is accepted in a letter from Coote dated 8/11/1996, with a final letter of thanks following, dated 24/12/1996.
Pre-PRM label - Stuck-on label on base reads: 'SUDAN. 1091' [JC 24/12/1996].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, SUDAN, ZANDE. Pottery book-end, d.d. Powell-Cotton Museum. 1996.53.1 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 23/3/2005].
Related Documents File - Letter from Derek R. Howlett, Curator of The Powell-Cotton Museum, to Dr Jones, Director of PRM, dated 9th October 1996, regarding a visit by Powell-Cotton to the Sudan in 1923 [sic] and the subsequent distribution of Zande material from that visit on 6th October 1933. A packing list of Zande objects that were received at the Quex House on 6/10/1933 is enclosed; this object appears in the entry: "B.1091, Book ends, pairs [male symbol] and [female symbol] figures". Howlett suggests that this 'B' stood for 'Balfour' and asked if the PRM had all the objects so annotated. A reply was sent by Jeremy Coote to Howlett, dated 14th October 1996, confirming that the three items were now at the PRM. A further letter from Howlett, dated 23rd October 1996, states that one of the two book-ends (1091) was still at the Powell-Cotton Museum; he offers to send it on to the PRM; this offer is accepted in a letter from Coote dated 8/11/1996, with a final letter of thanks following, dated 24/12/1996.
Pre-PRM label - Stuck-on label on base reads: 'SUDAN. 1091' [JC 24/12/1996].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, SUDAN, ZANDE. Pottery book-end, d.d. Powell-Cotton Museum. 1996.53.1 [plastic label with metal eyelet, tied to object; RTS 23/3/2005].
