Shilluk arm ornament
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1903.16.109 .1
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [Upper Nile]
Cultural Group:
Shilluk
Date Made:
By 1903
Materials:
Elephant Nail Animal? , Elephant Bone Animal?
Process:
Carved
Dimensions:
Max L = 72.3 mm Max W = 70 mm Max Ht = 14.3 mm [RTS 24/3/2004].
Weight:
27.3 g
Other Owners:
Collected by Donald Gunn in the Southern Sudan and presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1903. Museum records do not give a specific provenance for this item, but Gunn appears to have collected Shilluk material from the ‘White Nile’, ‘Upper Nile’, Kodok
Field Collector:
Donald Gunn
PRM Source:
Donald Gunn
Acquired:
Donated 1903
Collected Date:
By 1903
Description:
Annular armlet carved in a single piece, apparently from part of an elephant toe.
The inner face where it would fit around the arm is flat to slightly convex, with a groove near the top edge that looks to be a natural part of the raw material; the upper and lower surfaces are flat, and the outer face is concave.
The object is complete and intact, but has a flaw on the top surface, and patches of wear on opposite sides of the outer edges, perhaps where the armlet has rubbed against the owner's body.
The colour ranges from a light brown (Pantone 465C) to a dark brown (Pantone black 7C).
The length across the armlet is 72.3 mm, the width across it 70 mm; the dimensions across the inside edges are 58 x 57 mm, with a thickness of 7 mm and a height of 14.3 mm.
The armlet weighs 27.3 grams.
Collected by Donald Gunn in the Southern Sudan and presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1903. Museum records give only the generic provenance of ‘Upper Nile’ for this item; Gunn appears to have collected Shilluk material from the ‘White Nile’, ‘Upper Nile’, Kodok and Bor, Nuer material from around Lake No, Dinka material from the ‘White Nile’ and Arab material from Omdurman.
This appears to have been part of a pair of armlets; for the other example, see 1903.16.109.2, and for a second pair, see 1903.16.108.1-.2.
Rachael Sparks 18/9/2005.
Collected by Donald Gunn in the Southern Sudan and presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1903. Museum records give only the generic provenance of ‘Upper Nile’ for this item; Gunn appears to have collected Shilluk material from the ‘White Nile’, ‘Upper Nile’, Kodok and Bor, Nuer material from around Lake No, Dinka material from the ‘White Nile’ and Arab material from Omdurman.
This appears to have been part of a pair of armlets; for the other example, see 1903.16.109.2, and for a second pair, see 1903.16.108.1-.2.
Rachael Sparks 18/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[III, p.
110] - 1903 [pencil insert] 16 [end insert]
DR
D.
GUNN
Esq., M.B.
40 Dover Street, London, W.
June.
[...] [p.
113] - The following from the Shilluk tribe, Upper Nile.
viz: [pencil insert] 108-109 [end insert] - 2 armlets of elephant toe (?).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Shilluk, Upper Nile. d.d. Dr D. Gunn, 1903 (Rectangular tag with metal eyelet, tied to 1903.16.109.1; RTS 16/3/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Shilluk, Upper Nile. d.d. Dr D. Gunn, 1903 (Rectangular tag with metal eyelet, tied to 1903.16.109.1; RTS 16/3/2004].
