Bari stool
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1940.7.022
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] [Al Istiwa'iyah] [Equatoria] Bahr el Jebel
Cultural Group:
Bari
Date Made:
By 1940
Materials:
Wood Plant , Animal Hide Skin , Iron Metal , Brass Metal , Glass , Lead Metal? , Pewter Metal?
Process:
Carved , Polished , Bound , Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Bent Strung Knotted Perforated Tied
Dimensions:
Ht = 240, seat L = 134, seat W = 74, seat th = 6; diam metal studs = 5; top foot W = 29.7, th = 17; base foot W = 10.8, th = 10; copper bead = 9 x 7.5 x 7; glass bead diam = 1.5, th = 1.5 mm [RTS 17/5/2005].
Weight:
194.3 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:
Headrest or stool carved from a single piece of yellowish wood (Pantone 7509C) and consisting of a rectangular seat with concavely-cut ends and convex front and back edges.
The upper surface is concave across its length and convex over its width, and has been polished and decorated with 2 circular, flat-headed studs that have been hammered near the centre of the seat; these are made from a white metal that may be either lead or pewter.
The seat has a flat underside, with a support extending downwards from the centre and dividing into 2 slender legs that are square in section.
These have rounded bases and do not allow the object to stand upright unaided.
It is not clear at what point this division of the legs occurs, as their upper two thirds have been covered with hide binding. This consists of a narrow strip of yellowish hide (Pantone 7508C), tied around the upper part of the pedestal and knotted off. Below this is a more substantial binding made of wider strips in a similar colour that loop around each leg, and are woven horizontally across 3 vertical strips in the gap between the feet, to create a solid web. The upper part of this has been coated with some dark resinous material, and decorated on the front of the object with a strip of brass, wound into a spiral around one of the hide verticals. At the base of this section a rectangular piece of hide has been pierced at each end and fitted over the legs, with the long sides then folded up and used as an anchor for the vertical elements, which are sewn through its upper edge. The object is further decorated with a vertical string of tiny ring beads, 17 of which are made from a translucent red glass (Pantone 187C), interspersed with 3 opaque white ring beads. These have been attached to the inside edge of one of the feet, on the opposite side of the headrest to the decorative brass spiral. Finally, the headrest has been provided with a carrying loop on either side of the body. One loop is made from 2 hide strips, threaded with groups of metal beads in iron, copper and brass (Pantone 877C, 876C and 871C), made from rectangular strips bent and hammered into cylinders with the ends touching as a seam down the side, and are arranged as 1 iron, 3 copper, 5 iron, 1 copper and 6 brass beads, with the latter being much shorter in length than the others. On the other side, the hide strips have been plaited into a herringbone pattern, and have a strip of iron wound around the upper part of the handle. This strip has broken part way along its length. The stool is essentially complete, although a section of the leg binding appears to be missing, possibly cut away. It has a weight of 194.3 grams and is 240 mm high, with a seat measuring 134 mm in length, 74 mm in width and 6 mm in thickness; the top of the foot is 29.7 mm wide and 17 mm thick, while the base of one foot measures 10.8 by 10 mm across. A typical copper bead is 9 mm long, 7.5 mm wide and 7 mm thick, the glass beads have a diameter of 1.5 mm and are 1.5 mm thick, while the decorative white metal studs have a diameter of 5 mm.
Collected by Samuel P. Powell from somewhere in the Equatorial Province, a province that was created to replace the old administrative district of Mongalla in 1934, and which continued till 1981. It was subsequently divided into the districts of Eastern and Western Equatoria, then further divided in the 1990's into the modern administrative districts of Western Equatoria, Bahr el Jebel, and Eastern Equatoria ( Times Comprehensive Atlas, 1999 , plate 86). The Bari seem to be located within Bahr el Jebel, suggesting a provenance within this area. He does not record the local name for this object.
Trowell and Wachsmann describe this type of stool, which was often used as a headrest, with a small rectangular top curved to fit the neck and two legs that enable it to be tilted at an angle; it could be carried on the arm through the small strap. They illustrate a similar example, with legs held together by woven fibre, and describe this as being common to the Karamoja, Turkana and Suk (M. Trowell & K.P. Wachsmann, 1953, Tribal Crafts of Uganda, p. 157, pl. 37E).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
It is not clear at what point this division of the legs occurs, as their upper two thirds have been covered with hide binding. This consists of a narrow strip of yellowish hide (Pantone 7508C), tied around the upper part of the pedestal and knotted off. Below this is a more substantial binding made of wider strips in a similar colour that loop around each leg, and are woven horizontally across 3 vertical strips in the gap between the feet, to create a solid web. The upper part of this has been coated with some dark resinous material, and decorated on the front of the object with a strip of brass, wound into a spiral around one of the hide verticals. At the base of this section a rectangular piece of hide has been pierced at each end and fitted over the legs, with the long sides then folded up and used as an anchor for the vertical elements, which are sewn through its upper edge. The object is further decorated with a vertical string of tiny ring beads, 17 of which are made from a translucent red glass (Pantone 187C), interspersed with 3 opaque white ring beads. These have been attached to the inside edge of one of the feet, on the opposite side of the headrest to the decorative brass spiral. Finally, the headrest has been provided with a carrying loop on either side of the body. One loop is made from 2 hide strips, threaded with groups of metal beads in iron, copper and brass (Pantone 877C, 876C and 871C), made from rectangular strips bent and hammered into cylinders with the ends touching as a seam down the side, and are arranged as 1 iron, 3 copper, 5 iron, 1 copper and 6 brass beads, with the latter being much shorter in length than the others. On the other side, the hide strips have been plaited into a herringbone pattern, and have a strip of iron wound around the upper part of the handle. This strip has broken part way along its length. The stool is essentially complete, although a section of the leg binding appears to be missing, possibly cut away. It has a weight of 194.3 grams and is 240 mm high, with a seat measuring 134 mm in length, 74 mm in width and 6 mm in thickness; the top of the foot is 29.7 mm wide and 17 mm thick, while the base of one foot measures 10.8 by 10 mm across. A typical copper bead is 9 mm long, 7.5 mm wide and 7 mm thick, the glass beads have a diameter of 1.5 mm and are 1.5 mm thick, while the decorative white metal studs have a diameter of 5 mm.
Collected by Samuel P. Powell from somewhere in the Equatorial Province, a province that was created to replace the old administrative district of Mongalla in 1934, and which continued till 1981. It was subsequently divided into the districts of Eastern and Western Equatoria, then further divided in the 1990's into the modern administrative districts of Western Equatoria, Bahr el Jebel, and Eastern Equatoria ( Times Comprehensive Atlas, 1999 , plate 86). The Bari seem to be located within Bahr el Jebel, suggesting a provenance within this area. He does not record the local name for this object.
Trowell and Wachsmann describe this type of stool, which was often used as a headrest, with a small rectangular top curved to fit the neck and two legs that enable it to be tilted at an angle; it could be carried on the arm through the small strap. They illustrate a similar example, with legs held together by woven fibre, and describe this as being common to the Karamoja, Turkana and Suk (M. Trowell & K.P. Wachsmann, 1953, Tribal Crafts of Uganda, p. 157, pl. 37E).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
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.
From the BARI TRIBE, EQUATORIAL PROVINCE, ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN.
[p.
309] 1940.7.022 - Stool, two legs, ornamented metal heads.
Card Catalogue Entry - The card repeats the accession book entry, but describes the object as ornamented with metal 'beads' not 'heads' [RTS 12/2/2004].
Related Documents File - Appears on undated typed list: "Bari Collection from the Equatorial Province, Sudan ... A stool". List is annotated by hand on back: "List of Curios" and "Far from complete" [RTS 16/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Stool. BARI. Equatorial Province SUDAN. S.P. Powell 1940.7.022 [brown luggage tag, tied to object; RTS 9/4/2005].
Card Catalogue Entry - The card repeats the accession book entry, but describes the object as ornamented with metal 'beads' not 'heads' [RTS 12/2/2004].
Related Documents File - Appears on undated typed list: "Bari Collection from the Equatorial Province, Sudan ... A stool". List is annotated by hand on back: "List of Curios" and "Far from complete" [RTS 16/12/2003].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Stool. BARI. Equatorial Province SUDAN. S.P. Powell 1940.7.022 [brown luggage tag, tied to object; RTS 9/4/2005].
