Amulet, Zande or Jur
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1884.140.261
Country:
?Sudan , Congo, Democratic Republic of
Region:
[Southern Sudan?]
Cultural Group:
Zande ?Jur
Materials:
Iron Metal
Process:
Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Decorated , Incised , Punched
Dimensions:
L = 42.8, W = 21.4, Ht = 17.4 mm; Strip W = 7, th = 0.5 to 1 mm; diam cones = 21 mm [RTS 24/8/2004].
Weight:
28.3 g
Other Owners:
Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. This object was listed in the Delivery Catalogue as having been transferred from South Kensington Museum in 1884.
PRM Source:
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Acquired:
Found unentered Donated 1884
Collected Date:
?Prior to 1884
Description:
Small ornament made from a single narrow rectangular strip of iron, hammered into shape.
This strip has been bent to form a u-shaped loop at the centre, with each end then wound into a spiral that runs clockwise to the left of the loop and anticlockwise to its right.
These spirals gradually rise to their centres, forming two cones with hollow undersides.
The upper edge of the strip was decorated with a series of incised depressions punched into the surface and running along its entire length; the underside was left plain.
The iron is currently a metallic gray colour (Pantone 421C), with traces of red ochre around the spirals (Pantone 483C).
It has a weight of 28.3 grams, is 42.8 mm long and 21.4 mm wide, with a height of 17.4 mm.
The strip itself is 7 mm wide and 0.5 to 1 mm thick; each cone has a base diameter of 21 mm.
Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. This object was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum, and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Museum records describe this object as an amulet. The same piece is illustrated by J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man Volume I, p. 502 (top right), and discussed on p. 503; however he attributes it to the Jur (a term which he uses generically for several south Sudanese groups); he states such ornaments are either worn by Jur or sold to the Dinka and other neighbouring tribes for food. Wood does not give the source of this object, but it may have originated with John Petherick as did much of the other Zande material he illustrates. Note that he does not suggest it had an amuletic function; this information must have come either from the collector or museum staff. A somewhat similar ornament is illustrated by Boccassino, and attributed to the Acholi; here the spirals appear to be flat, rather than worked into cones (R. Boccassino, 1964, "Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e nilo-camitiche, parte quarto", fig. 32). Spirals also appear as decorative elements on other Zande objects, including 1934.8.144, a brass hair pin with spiral top, and 1884.87.25, an apron which has an iron spiral as a decorative attachment.
This object is currently on display in the Court, case 29A.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Pitt Rivers sent this object to Bethnal Green Museum for display, as part of the first batch of objects sent there, probably in 1874. This object was later displayed in the South Kensington Museum, and transferred from there to become part of the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1884.
Museum records describe this object as an amulet. The same piece is illustrated by J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man Volume I, p. 502 (top right), and discussed on p. 503; however he attributes it to the Jur (a term which he uses generically for several south Sudanese groups); he states such ornaments are either worn by Jur or sold to the Dinka and other neighbouring tribes for food. Wood does not give the source of this object, but it may have originated with John Petherick as did much of the other Zande material he illustrates. Note that he does not suggest it had an amuletic function; this information must have come either from the collector or museum staff. A somewhat similar ornament is illustrated by Boccassino, and attributed to the Acholi; here the spirals appear to be flat, rather than worked into cones (R. Boccassino, 1964, "Contributo allo studio dell'ergologia delle popolazioni nilotiche e nilo-camitiche, parte quarto", fig. 32). Spirals also appear as decorative elements on other Zande objects, including 1934.8.144, a brass hair pin with spiral top, and 1884.87.25, an apron which has an iron spiral as a decorative attachment.
This object is currently on display in the Court, case 29A.
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
PR VIII entry
[p.
13]
-
Amulet made of iron.
C.
Africa; Zande.
Found unentered during the DCF 4 - 5 Court Project.
Information written on the object label matches the description and number 1539 given in the Black Book entry and in the Delivery Catalogue II entry.
MdeA 2/3/2003.
Black book entry [p. 62] - 1539. Iron amulet. Worn by Neamnam [sic] tribe. C. Africa. [insert] Completely new entry [end insert].
Delivery Catalogue II entry [p. 265] - Personal ornaments of various savage races [p. 269] - [insert] new entry [end insert] Amulet. Neam Nam tribe. 1539. Case 8, 325.
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Iron amulet. NIAM-NIAM (A-ZANDE) Tribe, Cent. AFRICA. P.R. coll. (1539) [tied to object, RTS 24/8/2004].
Black book entry [p. 62] - 1539. Iron amulet. Worn by Neamnam [sic] tribe. C. Africa. [insert] Completely new entry [end insert].
Delivery Catalogue II entry [p. 265] - Personal ornaments of various savage races [p. 269] - [insert] new entry [end insert] Amulet. Neam Nam tribe. 1539. Case 8, 325.
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Iron amulet. NIAM-NIAM (A-ZANDE) Tribe, Cent. AFRICA. P.R. coll. (1539) [tied to object, RTS 24/8/2004].
Display History:
Displayed in Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums (V&A).
[AP]
Publication History:
J.G.
Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man Volume I, p.
502 (top right), discussed on p.
503 (but attributed to the Jur).
[AP]
