Bari arm ornament
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1934.8.51
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] ?Bahr el Jebel Peridi
Cultural Group:
Bari
Date Made:
By 1933
Materials:
Iron Metal
Process:
Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Incised
Dimensions:
L = 84.3 mm, W = 93.5 mm, W band = 6.7 mm, Th = 4 mm [RTS 24/3/2004].
Weight:
46.7 g
Local Name:
reahd
Other Owners:
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife on 9th February 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:
9th February 1933
Description:
Penannular iron armlet made from a narrow bar with rectangular section tapering to a point at either end; this has been bent into an irregularly oval loop with open ends, 10 mm apart.
A narrow cylindrical knob with polished, flattened head projects at right angles from the centre of the outer face, with irregular tool marks around its sides.
The outer face of the armlet is generally smooth and polished, while the inner face has an irregular seam-like line running around it with further flaws at either end, possibly representing overlapping pieces of metal that have been bonded together.
The outer face is decorated with three groups of incised crosshatched bands on either side of the knob.
These bands have been heavily worn near the open ends.
There are traces of a red material, possibly ochre, on all faces and in the incised decoration (Pantone 478C).
While this could have been applied deliberately to make the decoration stand out, its presence on the edges and inner face suggest it could also have rubbed off the owner's skin accidentally.
Otherwise object is currently an opaque silver grey in colour (Pantone 422C).
The length of the armlet is 84.3 mm, its width is 77 mm without the knob, and 93.5 mm including the knob; the measurement across the inside edges is 77 mm, the width of the band is 6.7 mm and the thickness of the metal is 4 mm.
The armlet weighs 46.7 grams.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Peridi on 9th February 1933 during a shooting expedition. While the precise location of Peridi has yet to be established (it lies at co-ordinates 5.23 N., 31.49 E) , it is probably to be located in the modern administrative district of Bahr el Jebel, Southern Sudan, west of Mongalla.
The type of armlet is known as reahd in Bari. Another armlet with similar projecting knob is attributed by Schweinfurth to the Mittu (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. IX no. 11). Similar red ochre traces were found on 2 other Bari objects in the collection; armlet 1934.8.50 and a twisted iron torque, 1903.2.3, Lotuko twisted iron torque 1934.8.67 and hide necklets 1934.8.70-71. It is also similar to the 'red paste' in which a number of beads are embedded on Murle bracelet 1884.82.23.
This object is currently on display in the Lower Gallery, case 111A.
Rachael Sparks 24/9/2005.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah at Peridi on 9th February 1933 during a shooting expedition. While the precise location of Peridi has yet to be established (it lies at co-ordinates 5.23 N., 31.49 E) , it is probably to be located in the modern administrative district of Bahr el Jebel, Southern Sudan, west of Mongalla.
The type of armlet is known as reahd in Bari. Another armlet with similar projecting knob is attributed by Schweinfurth to the Mittu (G. Schweinfurth, 1875, Artes Africanae, pl. IX no. 11). Similar red ochre traces were found on 2 other Bari objects in the collection; armlet 1934.8.50 and a twisted iron torque, 1903.2.3, Lotuko twisted iron torque 1934.8.67 and hide necklets 1934.8.70-71. It is also similar to the 'red paste' in which a number of beads are embedded on Murle bracelet 1884.82.23.
This object is currently on display in the Lower Gallery, case 111A.
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: [...] [p.
252] - From the
BARI
tribe, MONGALLA, PERIDI and NGANGALA.
[insert] 51 [end insert] - Engraved iron penannular armlet,
reahd
, ib[idem] [PERIDI] (167).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 12/2/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Reahd , armlet. BARI, PERIDI, E. SUDAN, 5 ° 23' N, 31° 49' E. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (167) [tied to object; RTS 24/3/2004].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Barri Tribe". This object appears as item 167: "Iron armlet, square section, diminishing ends, engraved knob in centre, native name Reahd , 9/2/33 Peridi, 5.23 N. 31.49 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 12/2/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - Reahd , armlet. BARI, PERIDI, E. SUDAN, 5 ° 23' N, 31° 49' E. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (167) [tied to object; RTS 24/3/2004].
Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Barri Tribe". This object appears as item 167: "Iron armlet, square section, diminishing ends, engraved knob in centre, native name Reahd , 9/2/33 Peridi, 5.23 N. 31.49 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].
