Acholi mobile
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1998.9.16
Country:
Uganda , [Sudan]
Region:
Masindi District Kibanda County Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement [Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Acholi?
Date Made:
By 1997
Materials:
Cardboard Paper Plant , Textile , Polyester Textile Synthetic? , Wool Yarn Animal?
Process:
Chequer Woven , Covered , Stitched , Recycled
Dimensions:
Ht = 138, L = 180, W = 170; L diamond shaped segments = approx. 60, L suspension loop = 45 mm [RTS 16/2/2005].
Weight:
75.6 g
Other Owners:
Given to Tania Kaiser in 1997 by the Widows and Orphans Association; sold to PRM on 19th January 1998
Field Collector:
Tania Kaiser
PRM Source:
Tania Kaiser
Acquired:
Purchased 19 January 1998
Collected Date:
1997
Description:
Mobile made from diamond-shaped pieces of cardboard, covered in recycled scraps of school uniforms and other textiles and then stitched together.
The body is hollow and shaped like a dodecahedron, with each of the 12 sides composed of 5 diamond-shaped segments arranged into a star, then stitched to one another and adjacent sides along their edges.
This stitching has been done using a combination of white, yellow and black yarn, some of which may be wool; the colours do not always co-ordinate with the colour of the fabric being used.
All the cloth used has been made with a simple checkweave (over 1, under 1).
Some pieces are cut from a yellow polyester fabric (Pantone 7505C) that is said to be reused from Equatoria Civic Fund school uniforms; 2 sides have been filled entirely with diamonds in this design.
Others have been cut from fabric with a navy blue background (Pantone 539C) covered with 2-coloured olive green dots (Pantone 449C).
This has been used for 1 whole side and parts of 2 other sides.
A third fabric has a pale pink background with a floral pattern in red (Pantone 173C), purple (Pantone 258C) and navy blue, including heart shaped motifs; this appears on one full side and part of a second.
The final fabric is a mix of a pale off white background with thin blue stripes (Pantone 2766C), red background with thicker blue stripes (Pantone 484C), and yellow background with thin blue stripes (Pantone 110C); this makes up 2 full sides and parts of several others.
At the top of the mobile, a multi-stranded loop has been sewn onto one corner to allow it to be hung up.
The mobile is complete and in good condition, and the fabric colours are still quite bright.
It has a weight of 75.6 grams, and is 138 mm high, and 180 by 170 mm wide.
Each diamond shaped segment is around 60 mm long, and the suspension loop is 45 mm long.
Given to Tania Kaiser in 1997 by the Widows and Orphans Association; purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. These sorts of handicrafts are made either individually by women, to use, or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, as was the case with this object. These tended to be sold within the community, and some women complained that they lacked the materials needed to carry out this kind of work.
For details of Kaiser's work in Uganda, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Given to Tania Kaiser in 1997 by the Widows and Orphans Association; purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 19th January 1998. These sorts of handicrafts are made either individually by women, to use, or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, as was the case with this object. These tended to be sold within the community, and some women complained that they lacked the materials needed to carry out this kind of work.
For details of Kaiser's work in Uganda, see: T. Kaiser, 1999, Living in Limbo: Insecurity and the Settlement of Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda (Unpublished PhD); T. Kaiser, "Making Do and Making Beautiful: Recycling in an African Refugee Settlement", in: J. Coote, C. Morton and J. Nicholson (eds), Transformations, the Art of Recyclying, 44-47; T. Kaiser, 2000, UNHCR's Withdrawal from Kiryandongo: Anatomy of a Handover , New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 32, 1, 3.
Rachael Sparks 29/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Day book entry -
20/1[/98].
D[onation].
MdA.
[donor] TANIA KAISER.
1998.9.
AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINIDI DISTRICT, KIRYANDONGO REFUGEE SETTLEMENT.
Collection of objects collected by donor.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card.
Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 17: "Mobile/decoration made from cardboard and covered in material. Given by the Widows and Orphans Association". It was purchased by the PRM for £2. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. Handcrafts are rarely sold in the settlement or in Bweyale in any systematic way. Most commonly made objects are embroidered tablecloths or bed sheets and crocheted food covers or chair backs; these tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; none so far have managed to establish an external market. Individual women complain that they are unable to undertake these sorts of activities as they do not have access to the necessary materials [RTS 15/12/2003].
PRM Label - PITT RIVERS MUSEUM. AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Mobile. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.16 [textile label, sewn onto object; RTS 16/2/2005].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card.
Related Documents File - RDF 1998.9: Acquisition Record, dated 19/1/1998, for 'collection of material from Uganda'. Memo dated 21/1/1998 from Jeremy Coote to Julia Cousins, dated 23/1/1998 regarding enclosed invoice for £150 from Tania Kaiser for 'collection of artefacts from Northern Uganda'. This object appears on an attached list as item 17: "Mobile/decoration made from cardboard and covered in material. Given by the Widows and Orphans Association". It was purchased by the PRM for £2. There is also a typed document on file, titled "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Masindi District, Uganda. Background to objects collected from a predominantly Sudanese Acholi community in 1997 by Tania Kaiser". The refugee settlement is described as being 14 kms from Kiryandongo town, near Bweyale and Nyakadot. The population is predominantly Acholi, but other groups represented there include Latuko, Madi, Bari and some Zande. There is a small market within the settlement itself, but many people go to the market at nearby Bweyale. Handcrafts are rarely sold in the settlement or in Bweyale in any systematic way. Most commonly made objects are embroidered tablecloths or bed sheets and crocheted food covers or chair backs; these tend to be produced individually by woman to use or as gifts, or by women's groups associated with churches or small local development projects, who sell them to members of the community; none so far have managed to establish an external market. Individual women complain that they are unable to undertake these sorts of activities as they do not have access to the necessary materials [RTS 15/12/2003].
PRM Label - PITT RIVERS MUSEUM. AFRICA, UGANDA, MASINDI DISTRICT; SUDANESE ACHOLI? Mobile. Coll. Tania Kaiser, 1997. 1998.9.16 [textile label, sewn onto object; RTS 16/2/2005].
