Bongo arm ornament
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1884.82.37
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Bongo
Date Made:
?Before 1858
Materials:
Iron Metal
Process:
Forged (Metal) , Hammered , Incised , Polished
Dimensions:
L = 70 mm, W = 58 mm, Th = 3 mm, Ht = 6.3 mm [RTS 5/4/2004].
Weight:
30.8 g
Other Owners:
Collected by John Petherick in 1858 and shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently acquired by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction, as Petherick is known to have sold some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (se
Field Collector:
John Petherick
PRM Source:
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Acquired:
Donated 1884
Collected Date:
1858
Description:
Penannular arm ornament made from an iron bar with rectangular section, the ends cut flat and curled back over themselves, and the whole bent into an oval loop with open ends, 24 mm apart.
This has been decorated with a series of small notches cut into the top and bottom edge of the outer face, running around the entire circumference.
The object is complete and intact, and currently a metallic gray colour (Pantone 420C), and the surfaces have been polished, although the inside face where the object rests against the wrist or arm is less well finished.
It measures 70 by 58 mm across the outside edges, 64 mm across the inside edge, and the bar from which it has been made has a thickness of 3 mm and a height of 6.3 mm.
It weighs 30.8 grams.
Collected by John Petherick in 1858 ; in that year Petherick led a trading expedition through Bongo territory, an account of which is given in his 1861 volume, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa; he refers to this group as the Dor. The expedition entered Bongo territory on January 25, 1858, visiting villages called Djau, Kurkur, Maeha, Mura, Umbura, Modocunga, Miha, Nearhe, Gutu, Mungela, Ombelambe and Lungo. Later in February they passed back through the Bongo villages of Djamaga and Lungo again. T his material was shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently acquired by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction, as Petherick is known to have sold some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). 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.
In Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa , 1861, p. 401, Petherick describes Bongo women as wearing numerous iron bracelets on their wrists. See also J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man Vol. I, p. 499. “On their wrists they wear bracelets, made simply of iron bars cut to the proper length, and bent round the wrist.” A similar object was published by Schweinfurth, said to be worn around the wrist by the Bongo, but also popular with both men and women amongst the Dinka and Jur (G. Schweinfurth 1875, Artes Africanae, tab. III fig. 15).
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Collected by John Petherick in 1858 ; in that year Petherick led a trading expedition through Bongo territory, an account of which is given in his 1861 volume, Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa; he refers to this group as the Dor. The expedition entered Bongo territory on January 25, 1858, visiting villages called Djau, Kurkur, Maeha, Mura, Umbura, Modocunga, Miha, Nearhe, Gutu, Mungela, Ombelambe and Lungo. Later in February they passed back through the Bongo villages of Djamaga and Lungo again. T his material was shipped back to England in 1859. Subsequently acquired by Pitt Rivers, perhaps via auction, as Petherick is known to have sold some of his collection through Mr Bullock of High Holborn, London, on 27th June 1862 (see the Catalogue of the very interesting collection of arms and implements of war, husbandry, and the chase, and articles of costume and domestic use, procured during several expeditions up the White Nile, Bahr-il-Gazal, and among the various tribes of the country, to the cannibal Neam Nam territory on the Equator, by John Petherick, Esq., H.M. Consul, Khartoum, Soudan ). 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.
In Egypt, The Sudan and Central Africa , 1861, p. 401, Petherick describes Bongo women as wearing numerous iron bracelets on their wrists. See also J.G. Wood, 1868, The Natural History of Man Vol. I, p. 499. “On their wrists they wear bracelets, made simply of iron bars cut to the proper length, and bent round the wrist.” A similar object was published by Schweinfurth, said to be worn around the wrist by the Bongo, but also popular with both men and women amongst the Dinka and Jur (G. Schweinfurth 1875, Artes Africanae, tab. III fig. 15).
Rachael Sparks 30/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book V entry
[p.
1]
-
[insert] 1884.82 [end insert]
PERSONAL ORNAMENTS
(contd from Vol.
IV)
METAL BANGLES, BRACELETS, ANKLETS
18) [insert] 37 [end insert] - Iron bracelet rectangular in section with back curved (rolled) ends & serrated edge.
Ibid
[DOR]
ditto
[Petherick coll.] " [103].
Additional Accession Book V Entry [p. opposite 1] - 18) [Drawing], [for entries 1884.82.35-42] - black (1621).
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 195] [insert] 1884.82.37 [end insert]. Rectangular section iron bracelet with horns curved ends [Drawing] & serrated edge. DOR. 1858. ([part of] P.R. 103/1621). [p. 197] [insert] BONGO is tribe's name for itself. They are called DOR by neighbours [end insert, by BB].
Black book entry [p. 67] - 1621. Iron anklets (10) and bracelets. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Obtd by Petherick p. 110. [insert] 1884.78.43 + 44, 82.1, 2, 34-42, 53, ?32 [end insert]. [Note that while this makes a total of 15 items, of these, 1884.82.1-2 are actually Indian and do not belong in this group, while 1884.82.34 belongs with group PR 106/1619; the remaining 12 objects consist of 2 torques and 10 bracelets; RTS 4/12/2003].
Delivery Catalogue II entry [p. 300] - Personal Ornaments of various Nations [p. 305] [insert] 1884.78.43-4, 82.32, 35-42, 53 [end insert] 10 iron anklets and bracelets (Dor tribe Central Africa) 1621, Case 74, 345. [Note that there are 12 objects cross referenced to this entry, not 10; RTS 2/4/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 7/4/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Penannular oval bangle with recurved points. DOR. C. AFRICA. Petherick coll. 1858. P.R. coll. (black 1621) (103) [tied to object; RTS 1/4/2004] [reverse:] 1884.82.37 [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 21/10/2005]
Written on object - 103.1621 [in red paint on inside face] DOR TRIBE CENTRAL AFRICA PETHERICK [red paint on side edge; RTS 1/4/2004].
Additional Accession Book V Entry [p. opposite 1] - 18) [Drawing], [for entries 1884.82.35-42] - black (1621).
Collectors Miscellaneous XI Accession Book entry [p. 193] - PETHERICK, Consul [p. 195] [insert] 1884.82.37 [end insert]. Rectangular section iron bracelet with horns curved ends [Drawing] & serrated edge. DOR. 1858. ([part of] P.R. 103/1621). [p. 197] [insert] BONGO is tribe's name for itself. They are called DOR by neighbours [end insert, by BB].
Black book entry [p. 67] - 1621. Iron anklets (10) and bracelets. Dor tribe, C. Africa. Obtd by Petherick p. 110. [insert] 1884.78.43 + 44, 82.1, 2, 34-42, 53, ?32 [end insert]. [Note that while this makes a total of 15 items, of these, 1884.82.1-2 are actually Indian and do not belong in this group, while 1884.82.34 belongs with group PR 106/1619; the remaining 12 objects consist of 2 torques and 10 bracelets; RTS 4/12/2003].
Delivery Catalogue II entry [p. 300] - Personal Ornaments of various Nations [p. 305] [insert] 1884.78.43-4, 82.32, 35-42, 53 [end insert] 10 iron anklets and bracelets (Dor tribe Central Africa) 1621, Case 74, 345. [Note that there are 12 objects cross referenced to this entry, not 10; RTS 2/4/2004].
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 7/4/2004].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Penannular oval bangle with recurved points. DOR. C. AFRICA. Petherick coll. 1858. P.R. coll. (black 1621) (103) [tied to object; RTS 1/4/2004] [reverse:] 1884.82.37 [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 21/10/2005]
Written on object - 103.1621 [in red paint on inside face] DOR TRIBE CENTRAL AFRICA PETHERICK [red paint on side edge; RTS 1/4/2004].
Display History:
Displayed in Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums (V&A) [AP].
