Arm ornament
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1925.62.1
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] White Nile Province Sobat River ?Barre River [Garre River]
Cultural Group:
?Nuer [?Dinka ?Anuak]
Date Made:
By March 1904
Materials:
Elephant Tooth Ivory Animal
Process:
Carved , Polished
Dimensions:
outside L = 137.5 mm, outside W = 137.8 mm, inside = 83.7 x 81.5 mm, Ht = 61.7 mm, th = 30.3 mm [RTS 1/6/2004].
Weight:
1050 g
Other Owners:
Collected by Burchart Heinrich Jessen on 6th March 1904 while part of William N. McMillan's Sobat and Boma River Expedition - for details, see B.H. Jessen 1906, W. N. MacMillan’s Expeditions and Big Game hunting in the Sudan. It subsequent history is not
Field Collector:
Burchart Heinrich Jessen
PRM Source:
Eva Cutter also known as Mrs W.D. Webster
Acquired:
Purchased August 1925
Collected Date:
6th March 1904
Description:
Large, heavy, annular arm ornament carved from a single piece of ivory.
Almost circular in plan view, this has a flat inner face, narrow flat upper and lower surfaces and a broad flat outer face.
All surfaces have been highly polished.
Although complete, the armlet is not in good condition, with several cracks having developed over the surface.
Those on the most highly polished, lower surface have had a series of small circular depressions lightly bored along the length of the crack.
This practice has been seen on other ivory objects, such as 1979.20.122, from the Dinka Tuich; according to Langton, the Dinka do this as it is thought to prevent the object breaking, although it can also be purely decorative; see also Shilluk armlet 1903.16.106.
The fact that this has been done to only one side of the object might suggest that in this instance, the latter was the case.
The ivory is currently a creamy yellow colour (Pantone 7403C); this varies in intensity across the surface.
It measures 137.5 by 137.8 mm across its outside edges, has an internal diameter of 83.7 by 81.5 mm, is 61.7 mm high, 30.3 mm thick, and weighs 1050 grams.
Collected by Burchart Heinrich Jessen, Norwegian explorer who accompanied the American game hunter William Northrup MacMillan on an expedition through Sudan and Ethiopia in 1904 (see B.H. Jessen, 1905, "South-western Abyssinia", The Geographic Journal 25.2, 158-171 and 1906, W.N. MacMillan’s Expeditions and Big Game hunting in the Sudan) . This left Khartoum in January 1904, and consisted of 11 Europeans, 32 Somalis and Sudanese and 1 Egyptian; their main aim was to explore the region between the Baro River and Lake Rudolf; with secondary aims of hunting and collecting birds and butterflies for the British Museum. The expedition's boats were towed south of Khartoum by a Sudan Government Steamer to the mouth of the Sobat River, then on to Nasser. The steamer then returned, leaving the expedition to proceed to Gambela in Ethiopia by themselves. By April 27th they had set off on the overland part of their journey, from Pokum in Ethiopia (near Itang). This particular item was collected on 6th March, on the ‘Barre River’. No river of this name is marked on Jessen's published maps of his expedition. He gained most of his local information from non-local Arab-speakers, and according to Jeremy Coote, 'Barre' could be a transcription of 'Bahr' or 'river'; if so, he did not obtain the correct name of the location where this object was found. In any case, as the expedition does not seem to have explored much beyond the Sobat River during that part of the voyage, this object was most likely picked up somewhere nearby. The subsequent history of this ornament is not yet known, but it was sold in August 1925 to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Eva Cutter, also known as Mrs W.D. Webster, a dealer in ethnographic material.
The attribution of this object was not part of the original object marking, so was presumably based on either geographical or stylistic considerations. Geographically, it could have belonged to the Dinka or Ngok, Lou or Jikany Nuer. Judging by Jessen's comments in his 1905 article, he did not have much direct contact with the Nuer; he did however spend time in Anuak villages, and of them he comments that 'Some of the men had their arms covered with brass rings from the wrist to the elbow, and a huge ivory armlet around the upper arm". However he seems to have encountered the Anuak over a month after the collection date of this particular object (Jessen 1905, p. 162).
For large armlets of similar form, see 1917.25.81 and oversized example 1979.29.121 (Dinka).
This object is currently on display in the Upper Gallery, Case 26A.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Collected by Burchart Heinrich Jessen, Norwegian explorer who accompanied the American game hunter William Northrup MacMillan on an expedition through Sudan and Ethiopia in 1904 (see B.H. Jessen, 1905, "South-western Abyssinia", The Geographic Journal 25.2, 158-171 and 1906, W.N. MacMillan’s Expeditions and Big Game hunting in the Sudan) . This left Khartoum in January 1904, and consisted of 11 Europeans, 32 Somalis and Sudanese and 1 Egyptian; their main aim was to explore the region between the Baro River and Lake Rudolf; with secondary aims of hunting and collecting birds and butterflies for the British Museum. The expedition's boats were towed south of Khartoum by a Sudan Government Steamer to the mouth of the Sobat River, then on to Nasser. The steamer then returned, leaving the expedition to proceed to Gambela in Ethiopia by themselves. By April 27th they had set off on the overland part of their journey, from Pokum in Ethiopia (near Itang). This particular item was collected on 6th March, on the ‘Barre River’. No river of this name is marked on Jessen's published maps of his expedition. He gained most of his local information from non-local Arab-speakers, and according to Jeremy Coote, 'Barre' could be a transcription of 'Bahr' or 'river'; if so, he did not obtain the correct name of the location where this object was found. In any case, as the expedition does not seem to have explored much beyond the Sobat River during that part of the voyage, this object was most likely picked up somewhere nearby. The subsequent history of this ornament is not yet known, but it was sold in August 1925 to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Eva Cutter, also known as Mrs W.D. Webster, a dealer in ethnographic material.
The attribution of this object was not part of the original object marking, so was presumably based on either geographical or stylistic considerations. Geographically, it could have belonged to the Dinka or Ngok, Lou or Jikany Nuer. Judging by Jessen's comments in his 1905 article, he did not have much direct contact with the Nuer; he did however spend time in Anuak villages, and of them he comments that 'Some of the men had their arms covered with brass rings from the wrist to the elbow, and a huge ivory armlet around the upper arm". However he seems to have encountered the Anuak over a month after the collection date of this particular object (Jessen 1905, p. 162).
For large armlets of similar form, see 1917.25.81 and oversized example 1979.29.121 (Dinka).
This object is currently on display in the Upper Gallery, Case 26A.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[BIV, p.
42] 1925 [insert] 62 [end insert]
MRS WEBSTER
, Great Russell Str[eet], London, W.C.I.
Aug.
[insert] 1 [end insert] - Very large armlet of elephant's tusk, GARRE R[IVER], tributary of the BARO-SOBAT R[IVER], S[OUTHERN].
Sudan (?NUER).
Coll[ected] by E.H.
Jessen [sic], Sobat-&-Boma Exped[ition], 6 Mar., 1904.
25/-.
[At base of page, total for items 1925.62.1-4] P[ai]d by cheque 10 Nov.
£
3
.
Added Accession Book Entry - 1925.62.1 No given AP h[eight] = [Left blank] w[idth] = [left blank] [red biro] A20 F10 25. Written upon this was "BA AK IK. BARON, S. SUDAN - W.N. McMILLANS SOBAT & BOMA EXPED. Mar. 6, 1904. E.H. JESSEN [sic], GARRE R.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Written on object - BHJ [= B.H. Jessen] Barre [sic] River March 6 04 [scratched into flat upper surface]. Ivory armlet. GARRE R.., S. SUDAN (?NUER tribe). Sobat & Boma exped., 6 March, 1904. E.H. Jessen [sic]. Purch. 1925 (Webster) [black ink, outer face; RTS 1/6/2004].
Added Accession Book Entry - 1925.62.1 No given AP h[eight] = [Left blank] w[idth] = [left blank] [red biro] A20 F10 25. Written upon this was "BA AK IK. BARON, S. SUDAN - W.N. McMILLANS SOBAT & BOMA EXPED. Mar. 6, 1904. E.H. JESSEN [sic], GARRE R.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the tribes catalogue card [RTS 23/7/2004].
Written on object - BHJ [= B.H. Jessen] Barre [sic] River March 6 04 [scratched into flat upper surface]. Ivory armlet. GARRE R.., S. SUDAN (?NUER tribe). Sobat & Boma exped., 6 March, 1904. E.H. Jessen [sic]. Purch. 1925 (Webster) [black ink, outer face; RTS 1/6/2004].
