Dinka fish hook
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1940.12.601
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Dinka
Date Made:
By 1940
Materials:
Iron Metal , Plant Fibre , ?Grass Fibre Plant , ?Cotton Yarn Plant
Process:
Twisted , Bound , Forged (Metal) , Hammered
Dimensions:
L = 318 mm, L cord = 285 mm, diam cord = 3 mm, diam bound area = 3.2 mm, diam hook body = 3 mm [RTS 9/7/2004].
Weight:
3.0 g
Other Owners:
Charles Gabriel Seligman
Field Collector:
? Charles Gabriel Seligman & ?Brenda Zara Seligman
PRM Source:
Charles Gabriel Seligman or Brenda Zara Seligman
Acquired:
Donated 1940
Collected Date:
By 1940
Description:
Fish hook consisting of a cord made from a single length of twisted plant fibre strands (grass?), doubled over at the centre with the two parts twisted together to made a shorter and thicker rope.
A loop has been created at one end by forcing these two cords apart; the other end is fastened to an iron rod, roughly round in section, that tapers to a sharp point at one end and has been bent into a hook.
It is not clear how the hook and cord are actually fixed together, as the junction has been tightly bound with a thinner string, possibly of cotton; this binding continues down part of the body of the hook.
The object is complete and intact; the cord is slightly frayed at the top loop.
The hook is a dark metallic gray colour (Pantone 425C), while the cord and string are a lighter yellowish brown (Pantone 466C).
The object is 318 mm long and weighs 3 grams; the cord has a diameter of 3 mm, and the visible part is 285 mm long; the area where cord and hook join has a diameter of 3.2 mm, while the hook itself has a diameter of 3 mm.
Probably collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman in 1922 while conducting research in the Southern Sudan, and donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum by himself or his wife Brenda Zara Seligman in 1940. There are no specific details recorded for its provenance or Dinka name. Apparently several of these hooks would be attached to the line at once.
For similar Dinka fish hooks, see also 1922.25.12 and 1940.12.602, which were probably collected by Seligman at the same time.
This object is currently on display in the Upper Gallery, case 26A.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Probably collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman in 1922 while conducting research in the Southern Sudan, and donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum by himself or his wife Brenda Zara Seligman in 1940. There are no specific details recorded for its provenance or Dinka name. Apparently several of these hooks would be attached to the line at once.
For similar Dinka fish hooks, see also 1922.25.12 and 1940.12.602, which were probably collected by Seligman at the same time.
This object is currently on display in the Upper Gallery, case 26A.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
468]
The late Professor C.G.
SELIGMAN, M.D., F.R.S.
Miscellaneous collection presented in part by himself, June, 1940, and in part, after his death, by Mrs B.Z.
Seligman, October, 1940.
[p.
500] 1940.12.601/2 - [1 of] 2 Iron fishing hooks suspended on plaited fibre strings.
DINKA, A[nglo].E[gyptian].
SUDAN.
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 499, in red biro] - A20 F10.30.
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Fishing hook. DINKA. A.E. SUDAN. d.d. Dr C.G. Seligman. 1940.12.601 [circular metal-edged label, stored in RDF; RTS 19/5/2005].
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 499, in red biro] - A20 F10.30.
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Fishing hook. DINKA. A.E. SUDAN. d.d. Dr C.G. Seligman. 1940.12.601 [circular metal-edged label, stored in RDF; RTS 19/5/2005].
