Dinka fish hook
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1922.25.12
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan?] [White Nile]
Cultural Group:
Dinka
Date Made:
By 1922
Materials:
Iron Metal , Grass Fibre Plant , ?Cotton Yarn Plant
Process:
Twisted , Bound , Forged (Metal) , Hammered
Dimensions:
L = 280 mm, diam cord = 3.3 mm, diam bound area = 3 mm, diam hook = 3 mm [RTS 21/7/2004].
Weight:
3.2 g
Field Collector:
? Charles Gabriel Seligman & ?Brenda Zara Seligman
PRM Source:
Charles Gabriel Seligman
Acquired:
Donated July 1922
Collected Date:
1922
Description:
Fish hook consisting of a cord made from a single length of twisted grass, doubled over at the top with the two ends twisted together to form a shorter and thicker rope.
These two cords have been forced apart at the top to form a loop, which has been slipped over the rope body to form a sliding noose.
The other end of the rope has been fastened to the hook, with the joining section tightly bound with a thin cotton string that covers the junction and thus obscures the exact method by which the two elements are secured.
The hook is made from a single iron rod, roughly round in section, hammered roughly into shape and bent into a curve; this tapers to a sharp point at the other end.
The object is complete and intact.
The hook is a dark metallic brownish gray (Pantone black 7C), while the cord is yellowish brown (Pantone 7508C) and the string a cream colour (Pantone 7506C).
The object is 280 mm long and weighs 3.2 grams; the cord has a diameter of 3.3 mm, and is 250 mm long from loop to cotton binding; the bound area is 15 mm long and 3 mm in diameter, while the hook has a diameter of 3 mm.
Collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman in 1922 while conducting research in the Southern Sudan; he did not give any specific details regarding its provenance or its Dinka name. Apparently several of these hooks would be attached to the line at once.
For similar Dinka fish hooks, see also 1940.12.601-2, which were probably collected by Seligman at the same time.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Collected by Charles Gabriel Seligman in 1922 while conducting research in the Southern Sudan; he did not give any specific details regarding its provenance or its Dinka name. Apparently several of these hooks would be attached to the line at once.
For similar Dinka fish hooks, see also 1940.12.601-2, which were probably collected by Seligman at the same time.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[VII, p.
46] - 1922 [pencil insert] 25 [end insert]
Dr C.G.
SELIGMAN
, F.R.S., Court Leys, Toot Baldon, Oxon.
July - Specimens collected by himself during 1922, viz:
1922.316
[pencil insert] 12 [end insert] - Iron, barbless fish-hook on snood, DINKA, WHITE NILE.
Additional Accession Book Entry [VII, p. 25 top, in pencil] - blue numbers not valid & not on specimens. Inserted by an assistant in error.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 03/03/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Fish-hook with snood. Several of these are attached to the line. DINKA, WHITE NILE, 1922. d.d. Dr. C.G. Seligman, 1922 [rectangular metal edged tag, tied to object, RTS 21/7/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [VII, p. 25 top, in pencil] - blue numbers not valid & not on specimens. Inserted by an assistant in error.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 03/03/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Fish-hook with snood. Several of these are attached to the line. DINKA, WHITE NILE, 1922. d.d. Dr. C.G. Seligman, 1922 [rectangular metal edged tag, tied to object, RTS 21/7/2004].
