Dinka headrest
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1934.8.17
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] ?Warab Fanamweir
Cultural Group:
Dinka
Date Made:
By 1933
Materials:
Wood Plant
Process:
Carved
Dimensions:
Ht = 235; seat L = 446, W = 38, th = 36.3; leg diam = 16 to 24 mm [RTS 2/6/2005].
Weight:
452.5 g
Local Name:
maniang
Other Owners:
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife on 3rd May 1933 during a shooting expedition
Field Collector:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton & Hannah Powell-Cotton (nee Brayton)
PRM Source:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton
Acquired:
Donated 1934
Collected Date:
3rd May 1933
Description:
Headrest carved from a single piece of yellowish brown wood (Pantone 729C).
This is an example of 'found form', with a naturally grown branch specifically chosen because its shape, with subsidiary branches coming off the main stem to form the three feet, was suitable for making a headrest.
It consists of a narrow horizontal seat across the top,
tapering to either end.
The back end is rounded, and the front extends as a longer tapering spur, possibly representing a stylised animal's neck.
Both upper and lower surface of the seat are convex.
Three narrower branches extend from the underside to form the legs.
The front and back legs are in alignment, while the central leg splays out in the opposite direction.
Each leg has a marked curve down its length, and has a worn bevelled surface on its underside.
The bark has been stripped off the surface, and tool marks are visible throughout; it is not particularly well smoothed.
The headrest is complete and intact, and has a weight of 452.5 grams.
It is 235 mm high, with a seat that is 446 mm long, 38 mm wide and 36.3 mm thick; each leg has a diameter of from 16 to 24 mm
.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Fanamweir on 3rd May 1933, during a shooting expedition. The Dinka name for this type of headrest is maniang.
Rachael Sparks 24/9/2005.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Fanamweir on 3rd May 1933, during a shooting expedition. The Dinka name for this type of headrest is maniang.
Rachael Sparks 24/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
248] 1934 [insert] 8 [end insert] -
MAJOR P.
H.
G.
POWELL-COTTON
, Quex Park, Birchington, E.
Kent.
Specimens collected by himself & Mrs Cotton, during hunting trips, 1933, viz: - From the
DINKA
tribe, FANAMWEIR & KORNUK, WHITE NILE [...] [insert] 17 [end insert] -
Maniang
, head-rest with three-legs, cut from a natural tree branch.
FANAMWEIR (2161).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 03/03/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Fanamweir. Dinka tribe. Wooden headrest, maniang . No. 2161. Coll. P.H.G. Powell-Cotton, 1934.8.17 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 2/6/2005].
Written on object - Head-rest, maniang . DINKA, FANAMWEIR, WHITE NILE. 8° 53' N., 28° 42' E. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton. 1934 [RTS 2/6/2005].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Dinka Tribe". This object appears as item 2161: "Pillow root, 3 legs; native name Maniang , 3/5/33 Fanamweir, 8.55 N, 28.42 E". Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 03/03/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, Fanamweir. Dinka tribe. Wooden headrest, maniang . No. 2161. Coll. P.H.G. Powell-Cotton, 1934.8.17 [plastic coated label, tied to object; RTS 2/6/2005].
Written on object - Head-rest, maniang . DINKA, FANAMWEIR, WHITE NILE. 8° 53' N., 28° 42' E. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton. 1934 [RTS 2/6/2005].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Dinka Tribe". This object appears as item 2161: "Pillow root, 3 legs; native name Maniang , 3/5/33 Fanamweir, 8.55 N, 28.42 E". Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].
