Report of the Pitt-Rivers Museum, 1929

A large amount of rearrangement of series was performed during the year. Several of the series were completely recast, in order to introduce important new material and to render their teaching capacity more effective. By the addition of new exhibition-cases and cabinets some extra space has been gained, but the congestion has reached a critical stage and it is quite impossible to do full justice to the collections and to organize them so that their very valuable material for instruction and research can be properly emphasized. The series have been developed with definite objects in view, but to carry out the objectives requires more space than is available and the need of extension is extremely urgent.

The relabelling of specimens has been carried on extensively, chiefly by my assistant, Mr. E.S. Thomas.

An important piece of work was commenced, that is, the preparation of a card-index catalogue of the collection of objects from the Naga Hills and surrounding regions. The Naga collection is probably the most complete in the world and is of great scientific importance. It is hoped that a catalogue raisonné of this collection may be published in due course. As a step towards facilitating this the card-index is being prepared by my assistant.

In the course of a tour through South Africa, N. Rhodesia, Tanganyika, and Kenya Colony during the Long Vacation, I collected a number of important specimens for the Museum, and was able to make many observations having a scientific bearing upon the Museum series.

The annual course of lectures to students for the Diploma in Anthropology was given by me, and I gave a special course of lectures on African Arts and Industries during Trinity Term to a class of 56 students of the Tropical African Services. Persons engaged in research have made frequent use of the Museum and have been given assistance as far as possible. There have been many visits paid by parties of school children and by groups of members of other educational institutions, to whom facilities have been given.

There is a long list of accessions, many of which are of considerable ethnological or archaeological importance. Specially noteworthy are a collection from the Bororó tribe of Brazil, made by Mr. George M. Dyott during his expedition in search of traces of the late Col. Fawcett; specimens collected by Mr. C.R. Pawsey in the Naga Hills; a remarkable series of wooden objects found in a cave in Tanganyika Territory and sent by Mr. A.T. Culwick; 2 very fine “Acheulian” palaeoliths of obsidian excavated in my presence in a terrace-deposit of the Kariandusi R., Kenya Colony, and given by Mr. L.S.B. Leakey; a pair of wooden disks of extraordinary size, worn by Sara Kabatis women of L. Chad, given by M. de Coppet; a rare type of friction musical instrument from New Ireland, sent by Miss B. Blackwood; a collection from the Cachar Hills, &c., given by Mr. J.P. Mills; a large number of palaeolithic implements from the Vaal River, Cape Colony, given by Dr. van Alphen; and a percussion-tube gun by Manton, purchased.

A full list is appended:

ACCESSIONS BY DONATION.
Carved figure of woman carrying child, A-Kamba; hand-drilling fire-making set, Giryama; Kenya Colony. Presented by Col. Oscar Watkins. ?Elk-antler spoon, Yurok tribe, California; Il aluminium money tokens (1920-3),France; ioanuat, ovoid wooden musical instrument rubbed with rosined hands (very rare), New Ireland, Melanesia. Presented by Miss B. Blackwood, M.A. Long carved bone cigarette holder, Peking. Presented by L.H. Dudley Buxton, M.A. Small spirally built pottery bowl, the structure ornamentally retained, Pueblo, Arizona—New Mexico border, U.S.A.; 2 neolithic "Bukkien" obsidian cores and 2 flakes, Borsod, Hungary; 2 ditto pottery sherds with engraved designs, ibid.; 3 ditto (bandkeramik origin)j ibid.; feather necklet, tobacco-pouch of rhea neck-skin, Suhin tribe; sheep's-horn spoon; Chaco, Paraguay: 3 wrought-iron figures of cow and pig used as votive offerings, Austria; painted 'Azilian' pebble, Mas d'Azil, France. Presented by L.C.G. Clarke, M.A. Piece of steatite bowl broken in making, Omalur taluk, Salem, Madras. Presented by F.J. Richards. Small flattish round flask with neck loops, ?c.1300 B.C., Ancient Nubia. Presented by E.S. Thomas, M.A. Small engraved silver cylinder with mythical scene, Haida, N.W. America; piece of soft greenstone, Noumea, New Caledonia; 10 parchment deeds (18th cent.) with waved and jagged 'indenture' tally margins, English; 8 feathered iron-tipped and bladed arrows, China; I feathered ditto with quadrilateral iron point, India; 2 reed arrows with barbed wooden points,?Peru; arrow with wooden head, the shaft covered with finegrasswork, Solomon Is.; 4 iron-headed arrows (one with double point), Mirzapur, N.W.P., India; 2 models of spinning-wheels, Norway; parang ilang chopping sword with carved deer-antler hilt, Kayan, Sarawak, Borneo; wooden carpenter's brace (1747), Swedish; modern pottery-mender's pump-drill, English; pump. drill with centrifugal bar, Lhota, 5 chabilis (miniature daos), formerly used as currency, Ao, both Naga Hills; wooden spoon with loose carved-out link, Ainu, Yezo; 2, knob-headed unfeathered arrows for stunning birds, &c., Canadian Indians; 2 feathered arrows, Plains Indians; 25 flint implements, Chellean pick and ovates and large flake with trimmed edges, Southampton; flint chopper of scraper form resembling a Tasmanian type, Beachy Head, Sussex; broad 2-edged dagger etched over with pseudo-Arabic characters, dagger with S-shaped blade similarly etched, E. Sudan; arrow with barbed "ogee" iron blade, Central India; 6 arrows with barrelled shafts and steel points feathered and nocked, Turkish. Specimens collected by donor in South and East Africa, viz.:— Model of double outrigger dug-out sailing canoe, ngalewa, Zanzibar; long creeping tree-root used for coiled basketry, cane-like strip, makenge, for binding the coil, Ba-Rotse, Zambesi R.; curved gourd neck with lateral hole and perforation covered with spider's egg-case membrane forming an instrument for " humming " into, Nyassaland worker at Broken Hill, N. Rhodesia; Acacia fistula spines bored by insects so that they' whistle' in the wind, C. Tanganyika Province; 5 sherds of decorated pottery, Lungu village, near Kasama, ibid.; 16 rough sandstone implements of Lower Palaeolithic type from an ancient factory site on a terrace, Erste R., near Stellenbosch, Cape Colony; 5 similar implements and a quartzite pebble used as a hammer from a factory site near Villiersdorp, ibid.; thick sandstone flake with edges roughly trimmed for chopping or scraping, small flake with edge trimmed for cutting or scraping, rough grattoir a museau ?unfinished, 3 small pointed leaf-shaped flakes with trimmed margins, 3 burins, small sub-circular flake work over one surface, very rough thick discoidal implement, all Cape Flats, near Maitland, Cape Colony; fine leaf-shaped implement of Acheulian type flaked all over, fine broad-ovate implement of same type, Vaal R., Pniel, near Kimberley; rough water-worn implement of cleaver type, Sabi R., round discoidal pounder or grinding stone, Praetorius Kop, both Sabi Game Reserve, E. Transvaal; keeled scraper,grattoir a museau, end-scraper, burin and flakes trimmed on one edge, all of obsidian, core of grattoir tarte' form, Gilgil R. Beach; end-scraper, grattoir a musea, skin-scutching scraper with jagged edge, sub-circular flake worked over one side, rough nodular core and pebble with flaked end (all of obsidian); 3 rough rolled and sand-polished chalcedony flake implements, Beale's Farm; all Naivasha, Kenya Colony: 48 rough much-weathered chalcedony implements of perhaps proto-palaeolithic age, Hope Fountain, Bulawayo region, N. Rhodesia; small gourd ladle prototype of brass form, Nigeria. Presented by H. Balfour, M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A. Twelve ground stone celts from Ashanti and Gold Coast: hammer-stone with finger-pits, old quartzite mealing stone, modern ditto of similar form, round fluted base of ancient pottery vessel, rough wooden comb, longicorn beetle believed to ensure fertility in women, Obuasi; 2 thick wooden spoons, Ampungyase; 3-stringed lute molo, Moshi; native-made wooden comb, 3 polychrome beads of highly prized types; all Ashanti: quartz pebble with perforation, Achimota, Gold Coast; wooden comb, Fulani, W. Africa; 2 pieces of iron-slag from old smelting site, primitive xylophone of 7 wooden bars laid on 2 logs with strikcrs, imported English wooden comb, Tarkwa, all Gold Coast. Presented by Captain R.P. Wild. Specimens collected by donor from the Indians, viz..:— Jingle of haliotis shell strung on hide, hand fire-making drill, cap of wrapped wicker-work with black designs, Karuk, Klamath R.; spring clapper of elder-stick split to the handle, Konkau, Round Valley: all California. Presented by Miss Helen H. Roberts. Two uncommon ground stone celts with hafting grooves, Wadi Hawa, French Wadai. Presented by D. Newbold and W.B.K. Shaw. Zulu assegai, carved wooden Kaffir staff; native dress sword with European blade and decorated scabbard, 2 leather-mounted ox-horns for parade, 2 knives with Sheffield blades and elaborate sheaths, hair fly-whisk, Bathurst, Senegambia, W. Africa; flag-shaped mat-work fan, ? Senegambia; 2 large sheets of decorated (? Fijian) bark cloth, Funafuti Island. Presented by Mrs. Cam. Ground almond-shaped haematite celt, Ituri District, Belgian Congo. Presented by Capt. J.E.T. Philipps. Bamboo tobacco box, ditto pipe with red and yellow binding on stem, ditto lime-tube, finely engraved, Nung tribe, Hkamti, N. Burma; cloth satchel embroidered with coloured designs including swastika, E. Kachin, N. Burma. Presented by Capt. J.H. Green. Specimens collected by donor in S. America, viz.:— Fan of plaited palm leaf, 2 string-work fringed armlets, 4 fibre-tassel arm ornaments, one long ditto, mounted black feather worn in the nose; and fire-making apparatus, Nhambiquara tribe, Juruena R., Matto Grosso, Brazil. Collected on the Col. Fawcett Search Expedition, viz.:— Fan of plaited palm-leaf, palm-leaf twill-work pouch, palmwood knife for rush-work, 2 girdles of rush-work, ditto of black 3 and yellow feathers on a cord, pointed bone for hair-dressing, long cord of human hair for the head, chaplet of monkey skin and yellow feathers, coronet of coloured feathers, 2 feather-mounted palm-wood pins for the hair, festal coronet of jaguar-claws, 2 breast ornaments of mounted teeth, one ditto of Giant Armadillo claws, 2 crescentic ear-pendants made from cartridge cases, 2 toucan-beak ear-pendants, 4 pendants of linked pearl-shell plates worn in the lower lip, 3 feather-mounted bone head-scratchers, feather-covered gourd rattle for dances, Bororo tribe, Sao Lorenzo, Matto Grosso, Brazil. Presented by G.M. Dyott. Short sword in black-lacquered scabbard, ditto in green-spangled scabbard, pair of swords (long and short) with black-lacquered scabbard and "prawn" design, elaborately mounted dagger with "prawn" designs on sheath and octopus metal mounts, dagger with mottled lacquer sheath, ditto with, leather-covered sheath and arrow designs, Japan; 6 krises with wood and ivory carved grips, execution kris with straight blade and carved grip, kris-sheath with brass and turtle-shell overlay, 2 krises in sheaths with " pistol-stock " grips, sheath-knife with curved 2-edged blade and carved grip, single-edged knife with " pistol-stock " grip at right-angles to blade, Malay; single-edged sheathed dagger with horn grip, iron-bladed serrated sickle, ? Malay; 2 flamboyant-bladed krises with carved grips (one sheathed), Bali; knife with chiselled and scrolled handle of one piece with blade, ? Kayan, Sarawak; knife with thick narrow blade sharpened on one edge near the end, in bamboo sheath; Land Dyak, Sarawak R., Borneo; heavy square-ended, socketed chopping-knife with sheath, no locality. Presented by Mrs. Shelford. Small mate cup of black pottery of gourd form with foot, ?Paraguay. Presented by G.R. Carline. Bottle encased in plaited leather-work, ?W. Africa; 3 bowls, 3 small vases, and pot cover of red pottery, Catacombs, Rome. Presented by Mrs. J.C. Symonds. Lace-maker's pillow with parchment pattern, &c. (1905), Milton Keynes, Bucks.; lace-maker's wood and bone bobbins (some c. 1860); 14 ditto, 2 lace-maker's parchment patterns and pins, Northants; pillow with recess for bobbins, &c., with 16 wooden bobbins and 5 cardboard patterns, Belgium. Presented by Miss Joan Evans, B.Sc. Serrated sickle-flint set in bitumen, Tell Ingharra, Kish. Presented by T.K. Penniman, M.A. Ground stone celt with diagonal cutting edge, Natami; 4 tanged ditto, Aichisagami, Yehimi, Baimho, and Okotso; well-finished almond-shaped celt of Kachin area (N. Burma) type, the finder attributed ill luck (from lightning) to a red streak in the celt, Dikhu R.; armlet of yellow strip to support ivory armlet, Phom, Hukpang; pair of old-fashioned brass armlets (man's) with stud-like knobs, woman's staff of hollow iron tubing, Konyak, Wakching; woman's field-apron for rain, ibid., white woven cloth tufted with indigo-dyed cotton, Kalyo-Kengyu, Noku, Sarmati Range; conical Konyak basket ornamented with 2 carved human heads, hair fringes, &c., ? Kongan; ditto with 3 monkeys' skulls with hair ear-tassels, ditto with 2 monkeys' skulls and boar-tusks horn panji-quiver, &c., Wakching; 2 small ditto with carrying-slings given by youths to girls filled with pan; 4 carved wooden figures (3 men and a woman), Punghung: all Naga Hills: metal disk pendant beyop, worn (2 or more) on a cane girdle as apron by girls till motherhood, Abor, NE. Assam; bamboo bullet-bow, Mirapani Mikir, Mikir Hills; carved wooden hornbill, ? for house ornament, Namsang,iron trident spear staff, Wanching,Konyak tribe; Naga Hills. Presented by C.R. Pawsey, I.C.S. Specimens collected by donor at and near Kimberley, viz:— Three small pointed ovates of Chelleo-Acheulian types, I finely shaped grey stone ditto, large " Moustierian point " of red patinated grey stone, large chopper-scraper with bevelled edge, ditto with most of edge bevelled, 2, long flakes with trimmed lateral margins, flake with edges worked to a long point, broken-off point of similar implement, large flake with steeply bevelled edges, leaf-shaped flake flaked over antibulb surface, pointed flake with worked margins one curved and one straight, flake with notch near the point, flake with a curved edge bevelled, small broad flake roughly worked to a point, 6 small and 8 very small "duck-bill" scrapers, 3 very small steep-edged end-scrapers, one ditto of "duck-bill" type, 2 ditto with worked margins and expanded scraping edge, flat scraper with bevelled edge all round, tarte ditto edged all round, 7 pigmy implements of crescentic shape, Tardenoisian type, 2, sub-triangular ditto of same type, ditto with squared ends and curved lateral margins bevel-flaked, 7 … (very small drills), 2, drills with tapering points and worked edges, 6 flakes and 2 curved ditto worked to a broad point, flake with squared end, several very small flakes; small flake of S-form with a margin worked to a beak-like point, 2 small ostrich-shell beads, small shell disk-beads, 2 small stone beads. Presented by J.A. Swan. Specimens collected by donor in Chittagong Hill Tracts, viz.: Small heavy ceremonial dao with curiously shaped sheath, squirrel trap with running noose set with a spring; similar bird-trap for the ground, old decorated powder-horn, Shindu, Madhu; Khumi tobacco pipe with brass-lined bowl, Singapa Valley; ornamentally woven bag with carrying sling, Banjogi, Monza Ghorao—all Sanghu R. and Valley. Presented by A.S. Hands, I.C.S. Series of horse-brasses mounted on a leather martingale, English. Presented by Dr. O.H. Wild. Two small flat stone celts; 2 slightly shouldered ditto, Gunjong and Haflong; small square object of red thread wound on a cross, spider-web fashion, for a grave, Semkhor; ditto large with vari-coloured threads, Dimasa-Kachari, wooden water holder for tobacco-pipe, ibid., Hosai village; old buffalo hide war-shield, Sangbar; small bamboo bow with cane string, Jahai, ginger-grater made of thorny plant-stems, Kotlir, series illustrating cire perdue casting including moulds, casts, &c., Sangbar, brass tobacco pipe made by above process, ibid., woman's head fillet of cane-strip, Jahai—all Biete (old) Kuki tribe; pitch-coated basketry cup for liquor with bear's claw- bone handle used at feasts, Leikul, bamboo shuttle of netting-needle shape, and wooden tobacco pipe, ibid.—all Thado-Kuki tribe; 2 rice-beer spoons of wood and bamboo, Zemi, Longkai; rice-beer gourd with syphon tube, Khelma Tippera, Baigao; carved wooden mithan head morung ornament, rough wooden human figurine, Zemi, Michidui; all above N. Cachar Hills: spring snare bird-trap with notched stock for spring-rod foot, Kabui Naga, Majirgram; silk-moth cocoons with raw silk and spinning accessories, Shainar Tippera, Damcherra; bamboo transverse flute made by a Bhil on Martycherra Estate; man's tiger-tooth pendant, Chongsen Kuki, Lailongcherra; all Cachar: woman's cotton under-skirt, 2 women's cotton over-skirts, large cotton shoulder-cloth, woman's decorated cotton jacket, Lakher, S. Lushai Hills; brass cire-perdue-cast syphon-tube union with bird figure, Nisapui, Lushai Hills; large bamboo bow with cane string and iron-bladed feathered arrow from a Bhagta coolie on Lakhipur Estate, Assam; 8 stone celts slightly shouldered; tanged ditto, Wokha; thorns used to close wound of a pig after castration, Rengma Themokedima; pair of brass ear-plugs (double rolled cylinders), Tangkhul; all Naga Hills: 2 "luck cowries" (amulets), Caithness, Scotland; old English wooden snuff-grater. Presented by J. P. Mills, I.C.S. Unhafted axe made of a large flat pebble ground to form a cutting-edge, Emu Plains, N.S.W. Presented by Mrs. W. Nelson. Five ancient carved wooden ? ritual objects of Australian parrying-shield form from a cave S. of Singida, perforated stone ball of kwe type from a ruined hut kept by a native who prized it for luck-bringing and curative properties, Singida, Tanganyika Territory; hide belt with beadwork, Wa Gogo, N. Tanganyika Province. Presented by A.T. Culwick. Forked stick with square-plaited cord made on it by loop-over process, Rek Dinka, N. Bahr-el-Ghazal, E. Sudan. Presented by J.W. Crowfoot, M.A. Small cloth-wrapped iron hook imitating a gazelle's horn used in weaving, Abu Dis, near Jerusalem. Presented by Mrs. J.W. Crowfoot. Stone axe-blade with rounded pecked butt, ground on both surfaces to a cutting-edge, Australia. Presented by L.G. Wickham Legg, M.A. Woman's black and gold lacquer hair ornament, 10 small books printed on folded sheets (illus.), Japan. Presented by Mrs. Sidney Hartland. Bowl of clay tobacco-pipe (XVI cent. type), The Parks, Oxford. Presented by Bruce Goldie, M.A. Specimens collected near Adelaide, S. Australia, 1851-2, viz.: War boomerang made with stone tools, 3 roughly carved clubs, carved wooden spear-thrower, wooden parrying-shield carved with stone tools on outer surface. Also large wooden spoons, hide quiver for arrows, S. Africa. Presented by Mrs. Anstey. Vase-shaped coil-work basket covered with leather strip overlay, E. Sudan. Presented by Dr. H. Scott, D.Sc. Rough sub-ovate core implement of chalcedony of proto-Chellean type, Hope Fountain, Bulawayo, N. Rhodesia. Presented by Rev. Neville Jones. Fourteen disk.beads, mostly of ostrich egg-shell in various stages of manufacture, with a delicate stone drill, Cape Flats, near Cape Town, S. Africa. Presented by A.J.H. Goodwin, M.A. Specimens of stone implements collected by donor neat Cape Town, viz.: 7 crescentic implements of Tardenoisia facies but large with convex margin flaked, 6 small ditto, 4 triangular pigmy implements, 4 small flake implements pointed both ends and fusiform with both margins worked, 83 small drills with one margin worked, 4 small flake implements slightly " hog-backed" with both margins worked to thick points, Fishhoek, False Bay; 6 crescentic implements of Tardenoisian type with convex margin worked, triangular flake implement, 10 fusiform ditto with both margins worked, small conical core resembling a tarte scraper, small flat " tortoise core " with large flake removed, Noordhoek, Hout Bay, Cape Colony; point of a long borer worked over one surface, 2 small thick circular disks flaked all over, Cape Flats. Presented by Col. W. Hardy. Fine ovate obsidian core-implement of late Acheulian type excavated in situ from terrace gravels, fine ovate ditto flake-implement found close to above, Kariandusi R., Elmenteita; fine obsidian " Moustierian point " made from a flake with lateral margins worked to a point, Malewa R., near Beale's Farm, Naivasha; 2, obsidian end-scrapers and a "Chatelperron" point, Gilgil R. Beach, 18 miles from Naivasha; l0 crescentic obsidian flake implements of Tardenoisian Capsian type from lower levels of Gamble's Cave, Elmenteita; 3 obsidian pointed flakes with lateral margin worked, ibid.; narrow obsidian flake with jagged edges, small obsidian end-scraper, and several pointed flakes and one broad flake, ibid.; all Kenya Colony. Presented by L.S.B. Leakey. Two iron cannon balls perhaps fired from guns of Admiral de Ruyter 1665, dug up in Alfred Square, Deal; alarm rattle of rotary type, Bromley, Kent. Presented by W.W. White. Wooden spear-shaft straightener, ditto with tubular slot for shaft, harpoon gaff with barbed iron detachable hook and long line, Beli (Jur), Rumbek, Bahr-el-Ghazal, Sudan. Presented by E. E. Evans Prichard. Stone implements collected by donor in Cape Colony, viz.: 2 rough unfinished pointed-ovate sandstone "Chellean" implements from a factory site, large thick outside sandstone flake slightly trimmed as a chopping tool, large sandstone disk worked all over and all round, from a factory site, near Villiersdorp; pointed quartzite implement of Chellean type with rounded butt, unusual type of combined hammer and grinder of sandstone, perforated stone kwe digging weight, ditto used as a grinding stone, Swellendam. Presented by Dr. van Heerden. Pair of large wooden disks formerly worn as lip-ornaments by women, Sara Kabatis, S. of Lake Chad, C. Africa. Presented by M. de Coppet. Pearl-shell fish-hook, Tahiti; 5 neolithic ground celts, 2 stone spindle whorls, pottery ditto, Aberdeenshire; neolithic ground celt, North Kirton, Banffshire. Presented by T.N.C. Nevill. Two horse-brasses, English; gutta-percha figure of man on horseback from an old grave, St. Ives; photograph of similar figure on a ridge-tile from Polperro, Cornwall. Presented by Mrs. Bicknell. Stone implements from excavations in Galilee caves 1925-6, viz.: Pointed core implement with rounded butt of Chellean type, "Moustierian point", flakes with a trimmed margin, short thick flake with a worked margin, core, hammer-stone, 2 un-worked but used flakes, Mugharet el Zuttiyeh; 3 "Moustierian points", rough end-scraper, 2 narrow flakes with worked points, core, miscellaneous flakes, Mugharet el Emireh; Wadi el Amud, Genesareth: 6 rough pick-like core implements flaked all over, 4 large heavy flakes worked over one side, one ditto with a bevelled margin, 8 flakes with used edges, Wadi Farah, Deishun. Presented by the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. Powder flask of Barbary sheep's horn, Arab; hone-stone with hole for cord, Shawiya and Arab; El Kantara: large ancient pottery sling bullet, Timgad; beginning of coil-work halfa grass basket with needle, wooden basket-needle witl double eye, small finished coil-work basket, Shawiya, Aure Mts.; all Algeria. Presented by Capt. M. W. Hilton-Simpson Witch-doctor's whisk made of a tail with hollow bone handle to hold poison, Meru, Kenya Province, B.E.A. Presented by F.M. Lamb. Spear with long shaft and point of straightened oryx horn, Shilluk, Upper Nile. Presented by C. Armine Willis. "Lower Palaeolithic" implements collected by donor on the Vaal R., Griqualand West, S.A., viz.: 146 stone implements of Stellenbosch-Fauresmith types including picks, ovates of various types, cleavers, &c., from the river-bed at Pniel; ditto of similar types including a twisted ovate, Windsorton; small ovate flake implement, Canteen Kopje. Presented by Dr. van Alphen. Old bronze key (?badge-of-office), Germany; 2 pieces of cloth with bead-work floral designs, Canadian Indian. Presented by Mrs. Braithwaite Batty. Specimens collectcd by donor in Ecuador, viz.: 2 ground stone celts, small ditto chisel, 2 stone mullers, portion of a ditto ?, small gritty stone slab with sharpened edge perhaps for cutting hard stone, 2 small oblong stone slabs, flakes of obsidian and chert, 3 pottery moulds for bronze axe-blades, 2 tridacna-shell pendants (? fishing-line weights), small perforated stone pendant, fragment of carved stone, 6 fragments of decorated pottery engraved some before and some after baking, 1l small spindle-whorls of pottery, 14 pottery human heads from figurines, 2 fragments of figures, pottery figures of pig and puma, 2 pottery animals' heads (one a whistle), pottery stamp with design (? for decorating pottery), very small bronze pellet-bell. Presented by A.J. Ruthven-Murray, B.Sc., M.A. Large stone celt, 2 small ditto not tanged or shouldered, 10 slightly tanged ditto, almond-shaped smooth stone ?Weathered into celt form; stone with ground facets used as body cleaner, Angami, Naga Hills; 4 small subtriangular wide-edged stone celts, 2 stone celts with square lateral margins, 6 broad-tanged and shouldered ditto, N. Cachar Hills; broad-tanged shouldered celt, Santal Parganas, Bengal; large flat bronze celt with expanded cutting-edge, Chota Nagpur. Large sub-rectangular painted hide shield, small wooden condiment dish, large wooden rice-beer mug; bamboo weeding pick, Kigwema; pith necklet imitating shell and carnelian beads, Tezatsimi; woman's hair-string chignon, Khonoma; veteran's head-ring with large flat horns covered with matwork with seed and hair ornament, Memi; 2 gaming reeds, keprei, Viswema; 2 strips of palm spathe with carbon sketches for house ornament, Phekekrima; 2 large ebony horns " for festival use, bamboo bird-scarer worked by water, Kohima; objects " extracted " from the sick by medicine-men, Chezwezuma; pitsi-zha priest's pedestal basket bowl with ribs split round a bamboo joint, Mima; hair of a frizzy-haired native, Chezubami; all Angami: necklet of 2, cane-mounted boar's tusks, Nakatomi; bundle of rough wooden figures of men wrapped in leaf, some stuck with spikes for working black magic, Kohima, E. Angami; 2 clay heads made by boys as house ornaments, Thetsami; 5 small figures of cattle made as toys, Togwema; Khizami Angami; 8 round-bowled wooden spoons, ? Angami; bamboo bullet-bow with cane string, carrying-basket decorated with green bird-skins, Chopnyu; fishing harpoon with detachable iron head and line, jingle of slats hung about a bamboo support to rattle in the wind, monochord lute with coconut-shell body with spathe cover and fibre string, fiddle with body of a bamboo joint covered with spathe and fibre string, 4 bamboo climbing-pegs, wooden hook for hanging up objects in morung house, Kongan; woman's armlet cut from a conch-shell, Nokphang; hair-pin tufted with red wool, Lunyu; low round turban-like basketry hat, wicker hat with imitation boar's tusks and feathered brim, carrying basket decorated with carved wooden human figures and macaque skulls, carved wooden head with hair-tufts and cane-streamers indicative of a head "taken", Wakching; carved wooden figure with tattoo design for a carrying basket, Chopnu; skull (jawless) of a chief marked with his tattoo design, Chi; carved figure of a seated woman; Konyak: 2 plain oblong hide shields, one ditto with hair-plume, 2 rough spears cut from bamboo and palm-wood, rough bamboo spear with spathe "feather", ? Konyak: broad belt-cuirass of hide, Kukishe; broader ditto, Sitimi; bamboo bullet-bow with cane-string, Kidikhu; asukhu, pedestal food-dish in two compartments, Vishyepu; 2 cloth lengtas with cowrie overlay; natural root resembling a mole (accentuated by art), Adsagalimi; Sema: bamboo quiver of cross-bow arrows with hunting talismans hung upon it, man's apron covered with cowries, Chimi; small pottery urn for hand-washing after meals, Nismi; part of a girl's skull from an urn, Laruri; dao-carrier of engraved wood, 2 pottery urns with painting and relief decoration, man's apron decorated with cowries; Kalyo-Kengyu: barbed iron dart-head for shooting elephant with gun, from body of one killed by Thado-Kuki of Songsang; maijap, flag-like basketry fan on revolving handle, Thado-Kuki; staff with "bola" cord for entangling the legs during riots, Yimtsung, Kothurr; dao-carrier of carved wood Phom and Konyak, Shakchi; bamboo tobacco-pipe and pricker, Mirinokpo, Kharilichang; bamboo drinking pot with figure of warrior carrying head carved in relief; Phom: man's imitation ivory armlet cut from elephant bone, ? Phom: hair-fringed panji-basket attached to ornamental baldrick, warrior's bear-skin head-ring with cotton-wool ropes and 3 rods for hornbill feathers, Tesiphenyu; snare with spring and double cord set in trees for birds, Chosinyu; looped bamboo stamp and style for printing designs on cotton-cloth; Rengma: dao-carrier of wood faced with bone plates, necklet of red trade beads, Naked Rengma, Melomi: ancient obsolete pottery vase covered with open cane-work, Kuki, Chongjang: set of 5 potter's tools, Ao, Longsa: drinking horn (mithan), red and yellow conical basketry hat with 2 projecting horns and two boar's tusks, Chang: ditto hat with pig-bristle fringe and 2 boar's tusks, cloth lengta decorated with cowries, 2 wooden horns and round brass disk, ?Chang: 2, comb-like modhu (rice-beer) stirrers, Kacha Naga: white cotton-cloth satchel embroidered with human figures and patterns, ?Kacha Naga, Longhong: plaited cane-strip figure (house ornament), Zemi Naga, Michidui: puchowo sun-shield of plaited palm-leaf for back and neck, long end-blast trumpet made of a hollow stem, Changsu; plain ditto of mithan's horn, love charm of down-feathers of a bird "which never alights on earth "; gall bladder of a bear, gall of which is used as medicine, Okotso, Lhota: 2 large cowrie-covered aprons, one with a brass disk, Lhota or Sema: loop-shaped iron-bladed hoe, Yezama; unfinished bamboo ditto, 2 men's spathe belts, brass-plated with cowrie ornament; caned wooden skull from a chief's house, Yanhang; tibia of small elephant (gong-beater), Yanha; 2 large hornets of which grubs are eaten—all Naga Hills. Bamboo bullet-bow with cane string, Winchang; turmeric grater made of rough stems, Waichong, Biete Kuki: vakulge, hair-plumes cut to imitate Drongo feathers; thupa, cotton head-tassels worn after a successful raid; guphel, obsolete bamboo bow, Taning—Thado Kuki, N. Cachar Hills. Cannon made of raw hide for rebellion 1918-19; very long bamboo syphon for distilling rice-beer, Lamlong; Kuki: woman's mushroom-topped iron staff, specimens of crucibles, moulds, casts, &c., illustrating cire-perdue brass-casting, 2 diengdong, xylophones of wooden bars tied together extended between trees and back of player, long trumpet made of sixteen graduated bamboo joints, 2 bundles of talismans stuck in a house-thatch, 2 guda, bamboo zithers with strings slit away from the cortex, Thado-Kuki; small pena, monochord fiddle with horse-hair string, Marring, Lamlong; sarangda, 3-string fiddle cut from the solid, the body covered partly with hide, Old Kuki, Charoi village—all Manipur. Cane-work helmet, Abor, N. Assam. Old percussion " Tower " musket, ? Naga Hills. Presented by J.H. Hutton.

ACCESSIONS BY PURCHASE.
Two long fighting knives with broad tapering blades and brass-mounted scabbards, Afghan type (G. Henwood). Wooden tobacco-pipe with bead-mounted stem, flat-handled wooden spoon, Kafir; 3 carved knob-kerries, small gourd snuff-box with burnt designs, small ogee-bladed knife in wire-bound sheath, ?Mashonaland; wooden spoon with asymmetrical burnt designs, carved horn snuff-box on a bead necklace, dance girdle with cocoon "rattles", S. Africa; small ring-handled dagger, N. Nigeria; fighting-axe of fanciful shape, Dahomey; brass ladle of split gourd form, witch-doctor's end-blast horn-trumpet, Gold Coast; black pottery pipe bowl with figures in relief, Ashanti; small elephant tusk carved all over with figures, ?Loango, W. Africa; iron pointed bamboo arrow with fir-tuft "feathering", copper knife with handle and pommel in one piece, Kasai; copper-bladed axe with faces in relief in copper-sheathed haft, Ba-Kuba, Belgian Congo; iron socketed "ogee" spear-head, Upper Congo; 2 combs with ornamental binding, Congo State; leather-bound wooden side- blast trumpet, Buganda, E. Africa; javelin with amentum for throwing, Kano, Sokoto; wooden spoon with carved handle, Somaliland; black pottery pipe-bowl with buffalo in relief, Mashukulumbwe, N. Rhodesia; short heavy engraved wooden club of oblong section, short square-sectioned ditto, B. Guiana; painted pottery vessel of bird form, decorated bowl of coiled basketry, cotton-bound composite comb, piece of shell cut as a scraper, Ancient Peruvian; stirrup of hide with wooden tread, ?Uruguay, S. America; "slung-shot" club, Plains Indians, N. America; spear-thrower, Victoria, Australia; 3 krises, ivory-handled kris, iron bladed axe-adze, Malay; silver-mounted horn-handled fly-whisk, iron-bladed axe and brass-bladed ditto, Kafir, Chitral; elephant goad and matchlock combined, brass box with hinged lid cast by cire-perdue process, India; prayer-wheel, brass head-dress with dorje symbol and added Buddhistic plaques in repousse, Tibet; small double wooden drum with striking pellets, ibid. or Bhutan; spear with multi-barbed iron blade, head-hunter's axe, wooden shield with projections, palm-wood bow and 2 iron-headed arrows with engraved shafts, small round cane-work cup, bark-cloth perineal band, Igorot, Philippines; spear with twin blades, the shaft covered with cane-work and hair-tufts, ?Sema; wooden cross-bow, Naga Hills; single-edged short sword in open silver-mounted scabbard, Lepcha, Sikkim; 2 ivory archer's wrist-guard armlets, Kuki, Assam; curious iron dao with cross-bar through grip with hair tufts on the ends, Khasia Hills, Assam; ?model of, or child's, carrying-chair for coolie's back, ? ibid.; 2 palm-leaf tablets with incised inscriptions, Burma; 2 fine sword-guards, tsubas, with monkey designs, Japan; executioner's sword with short one-edged blade, China; large Arab ]oom; dance paddle or club, New Ireland; carved and painted paddle, New Guinea; woman's grass-work loin-mat with purple designs, 3 wooden clubs, New Hebrides; 4 barbed palm-wood spears, Matty Island; large ceremonial paddle carved all over, Hervey Islands; wooden club, Samoan Islands; one ditto, paddle with carved shell-inlaid fish's head, spatulate double-edged wooden club, Solomon Islands; fish-shaped slate palette, Pre-dynastic Egypt; 2 pointed short swords with brass studded horn grips with sheaths, single-edged straight sword with scabbard, paddle-shaped 3-pronged club, no locality (Hooper). Two lacquered composite bows with leather and velvet quiver of 28 iron-tipped arrows, 10 arrows with painted shafts and iron blades, Bombay; composite bow, 50 iron-headed arrows, India; tobacco-pipe sheath of carved stag's antler, long sword with lacquered scabbard, Japan; composite bow, large ditto, Manchu; composite bow, China; 9 iron-pointed arrows, Persia; square-ended dao with engraved blade, open sheath and cane belt, Assam; carved and painted wooden head of woman wearing the high spiral brass collar, pair of spiral brass armlets, ditto anklets, Padaung, S. Shan States; brass spear-head, N. Nigeria; curved wooden glaive club, N. Africa; 2, trochus-shell armlets, Solomon Islands; double-barrelled gun with percussion tubes, England; old Scotch gaff, " slung-shot " club with stone head on flexible cord, ditto on wooden handle, stone maul hafted on straight wooden handle with raw hide, Plains Indians, N. America; bronze bi-valve mould for flanged celts, rosary blessed by the Pope, dagger with etched steel blade and wire-bound cross guard grip, ditto with leaf-shaped blade wire-bound grip and curved quillons, 4 16-century rapiers, 6 large 16-century knife-blades, iron halberd-head, no locality (Stevens). Small pottery figure of musician playing a lyre, Graeco Egyptian (Lawrence). Primitive fiddle with bow and case, Burma (R.F. Bertolle) Wooden spoon with 3 chain-links and open-work " pellet bell " all carved from the solid, ?English (Mrs. Faulkner). Ball-topped iron spike with chain pendants for fanatical self torture, Dervish, ?Egypt (Rev. C.V. Goddard). Thirty-four sketches made in China, Burma, &c., by late Col. R.G. Woodthorpe; amber ear-lobe stud, Burma (Miss I. Wilson). Dagger with carved wooden haft pointed with 4 sting-ray spines, Admiralty Islands; curved turtle-shell scraper with rounded ends edged all round, Tobi Island (J.F.G. Umlauff). Large sheet of brown bark-cloth with black painted design Kiziba; heavy grooved bark-cloth mallet, ibid., native iron-bladed hoe, Kiamtwara; hide-scraper of iron points bound together, Kanyangereko, Bukoba Province; hoe with hardwood blade, Mbewe, Bagamoyo Province; 2 native-made pottery lamps, Ufipa Province; wooden female doll, Morogo; carved wooden painted mask used in boys' initiation rites, Makonde, Newala, Rufiji R.; tobacco pipe with pottery bowl; all Tanganyika Territory (Dar-es-Salaam Exhibition).

 HENRY BALFOUR.


virtual collections logo

Supported by the John Fell OUP Research Fund

 

(c) 2012 Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford