Zande book-end
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1934.8.135
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan?] Western Equatoria ?Li Rangu [?Dingba ?Yambio ?near Tambura]
Cultural Group:
Zande
Maker:
Probably Mbitim
Date Made:
By 1933
Materials:
Pottery
Process:
Modelled , Slipped , Fire-Hardened , Decorated , Incised
Dimensions:
Ht = 135, base L = 145, base W = 122, base th = 14.5 mm [RTS 28/1/2005].
Weight:
>1000 g [RTS 28/1/2005].
Other Owners:
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife between 27th and 29th April 1933 during a shooting expedition
Field Collector:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton & Hannah Powell-Cotton (nee Brayton)
PRM Source:
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton
Acquired:
Donated 1934
Collected Date:
27th to 29th April 1933
Description:
Pottery book-end hand made from a moderately well levigated clay with numerous small to large mica inclusions throughout, fired brownish gray at core and red at margins (Pantone 7517C), with a mottled sooted black slip and pinkish brown slip (Pantone 7525C).
This has been built from 2 rectangular slabs of clay, one laid horizontally to form the base, and the second placed over the back end as a vertical upright; this is slightly angled away from the base, so it does not make a perfect right angle.
This creates an L-shaped frame.
The flat edges of this frame have been decorated with incised designs; The top edge has a running lozenge motif within horizontal lines.
One side has similar framing lines, with the band between them divided into squares by double, and then single lines, which are filled with crosses.
The other L-shaped side has a similar design, but with double lines dividing each section, and with the crosses also made of double lines.
The front edge of the base uses single dividing lines, but with double line crosses within them.
At the front of the book-end, in the angle created by the 2 slabs, a seated figure of a young boy has been modelled from the same type of clay. He has been made in high relief, with his legs, hands, torso and the back of his head attached to the base and back pieces. However his arms have been modelled in the round and stand free from the surface. The style is quite naturalistic. The face is well modelled, with lentoid shaped eyes, a small nose, cheeks and chin all well defined, as are the ears which stand out from the face. Incised grooves mark the ear interiors, a slight cleft above the lips, and the mouth. Circular depressions mark the nostrils. The hair is shown parted down the centre, and divided into a series of neat rows, with 2 groups running on either side of the parting back over the head, and further rows at right angles to these down the sides of the head towards the ears. A dot impressed band marks the front edge of the hair, over the brow. Fainter lines mark the eyebrows, and facial scarring, in the form of 3 lines making a 'crow's foot' pattern at the outer corner of each eye, and 3 vertical lines down either cheek.
The figure faces forward with his arms held out from the sides and his palms flat on the ground; these have five fingers on each hand. The upper body is also well modelled to show the chest, stomach and a small raised area for the navel. Body scarring is marked by a row of dots, that run obliquely down from each shoulder to the centre of the chest, joining to form a straight line that then runs down to the navel. Below this, the boy is wearing a pair of shorts, with a narrow band around the top, and 2 folds of overlapping material visible on either thigh. His legs are flexed at the knee, and his feet point outwards; the upper part of these, including his toes, have been broken away and are now missing.
The book-end has been badly broken at some time, and mended from around 9 pieces. Glue is visible in some of the joins, and many small chips have been lost from the surface at these points, especially on the base underside. Despite this, the figure is very close to complete. It has a height of 135 mm, and a base that is 145 mm long, 122 mm wide and 14.5 mm thick.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah sometime between 27th and 29th April 1933 during a shooting expedition. It was most probably acquired in Western Equatoria at the same time, at one of the four places he recorded collecting objects from: Li Rangu, Dingba, Yambio or on the road to Tambura. Although the records do not specify the maker's name, the work appears to be characteristic of a Zande potter called Mbitim, who Powell-Cotton visited at Li Rangu on 28th April 1933, and that seems to be the most likely provenance for this piece. For the pair to this item, see 1996.53.1. A similar pair of book-ends by this potter are now in the British Museum (accession number 1934.3.8.25-26, see E. Schildkrout & C.A. Keim, 1990, African Reflections, p. 231). The male bookend in this set matches the Pitt Rivers example very closely, down to the style of shorts that he is wearing. By the time Powell-Cotton visited it, Li Rangu had become a centre of foreign contact for the district, something that is reflected well in this type of product (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
Powell-Cotton filmed Mbitim at work; a commentary on that film describes him as follows: "'Mbitim', was an artist of exceptional skill and originality. His pots, jars and dishes were of varied and beautiful form, many decorated with Zande heads and figures, each one distinct, true to type and with its own definite personality. He worked swiftly with his fingers, and a split wood spatula; the only other tools were an achatina shell for the nostrils, and a fragment of gourd. The clay was very light in colour. This man's services are now pledged to the Sleeping Sickness Station at Lirangu, where he is encouraged to make book-ends and other objects of European design, but his work still remains individual" (Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). They collected several potter's tools and samples of unfired clay from Mbitim, now in the museum collection (see 1934.8.132), as well as a selection of his products. For vessels in the Pitt Rivers Museum that may have been produced by Mbitim, see anthropomorphic jars 1934.8.134, 1950.12.117-118 and bowls 1930.86.43-44, and 1931.66.2-3. Other examples of Mbitim's work may be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996.301-302) and the British Museum (1934.3-8.27 and 1931.3-21.48).
Larken discusses Zande customs regarding the collection and working of clay. Clay is usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools are limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing; decoration is applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes two kinds of vessels that are made, one with a low collar around the mouth, and another with a bow-shaped neck (see 1931.66.2-3). The smaller pots are said to be used for cooking meat, the larger ones for water or making bakinde; other pots are for brewing beer, while long-necked varieties are used for washing the face and hands - this last type may have a head adorning the neck. Each type has its own Zande name. Decoration often covers the whole surface. Larken goes on to describe the firing and finishing: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
Another characteristic of Zande pottery is that it is frequently mixed with small flecks of mica, which naturally occurs in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning 'slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of Mbitim demonstrates.
According to Larken, Zande men and women both practised cicatrisation, but 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring.
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
At the front of the book-end, in the angle created by the 2 slabs, a seated figure of a young boy has been modelled from the same type of clay. He has been made in high relief, with his legs, hands, torso and the back of his head attached to the base and back pieces. However his arms have been modelled in the round and stand free from the surface. The style is quite naturalistic. The face is well modelled, with lentoid shaped eyes, a small nose, cheeks and chin all well defined, as are the ears which stand out from the face. Incised grooves mark the ear interiors, a slight cleft above the lips, and the mouth. Circular depressions mark the nostrils. The hair is shown parted down the centre, and divided into a series of neat rows, with 2 groups running on either side of the parting back over the head, and further rows at right angles to these down the sides of the head towards the ears. A dot impressed band marks the front edge of the hair, over the brow. Fainter lines mark the eyebrows, and facial scarring, in the form of 3 lines making a 'crow's foot' pattern at the outer corner of each eye, and 3 vertical lines down either cheek.
The figure faces forward with his arms held out from the sides and his palms flat on the ground; these have five fingers on each hand. The upper body is also well modelled to show the chest, stomach and a small raised area for the navel. Body scarring is marked by a row of dots, that run obliquely down from each shoulder to the centre of the chest, joining to form a straight line that then runs down to the navel. Below this, the boy is wearing a pair of shorts, with a narrow band around the top, and 2 folds of overlapping material visible on either thigh. His legs are flexed at the knee, and his feet point outwards; the upper part of these, including his toes, have been broken away and are now missing.
The book-end has been badly broken at some time, and mended from around 9 pieces. Glue is visible in some of the joins, and many small chips have been lost from the surface at these points, especially on the base underside. Despite this, the figure is very close to complete. It has a height of 135 mm, and a base that is 145 mm long, 122 mm wide and 14.5 mm thick.
Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah sometime between 27th and 29th April 1933 during a shooting expedition. It was most probably acquired in Western Equatoria at the same time, at one of the four places he recorded collecting objects from: Li Rangu, Dingba, Yambio or on the road to Tambura. Although the records do not specify the maker's name, the work appears to be characteristic of a Zande potter called Mbitim, who Powell-Cotton visited at Li Rangu on 28th April 1933, and that seems to be the most likely provenance for this piece. For the pair to this item, see 1996.53.1. A similar pair of book-ends by this potter are now in the British Museum (accession number 1934.3.8.25-26, see E. Schildkrout & C.A. Keim, 1990, African Reflections, p. 231). The male bookend in this set matches the Pitt Rivers example very closely, down to the style of shorts that he is wearing. By the time Powell-Cotton visited it, Li Rangu had become a centre of foreign contact for the district, something that is reflected well in this type of product (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
Powell-Cotton filmed Mbitim at work; a commentary on that film describes him as follows: "'Mbitim', was an artist of exceptional skill and originality. His pots, jars and dishes were of varied and beautiful form, many decorated with Zande heads and figures, each one distinct, true to type and with its own definite personality. He worked swiftly with his fingers, and a split wood spatula; the only other tools were an achatina shell for the nostrils, and a fragment of gourd. The clay was very light in colour. This man's services are now pledged to the Sleeping Sickness Station at Lirangu, where he is encouraged to make book-ends and other objects of European design, but his work still remains individual" (Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). They collected several potter's tools and samples of unfired clay from Mbitim, now in the museum collection (see 1934.8.132), as well as a selection of his products. For vessels in the Pitt Rivers Museum that may have been produced by Mbitim, see anthropomorphic jars 1934.8.134, 1950.12.117-118 and bowls 1930.86.43-44, and 1931.66.2-3. Other examples of Mbitim's work may be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996.301-302) and the British Museum (1934.3-8.27 and 1931.3-21.48).
Larken discusses Zande customs regarding the collection and working of clay. Clay is usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools are limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing; decoration is applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes two kinds of vessels that are made, one with a low collar around the mouth, and another with a bow-shaped neck (see 1931.66.2-3). The smaller pots are said to be used for cooking meat, the larger ones for water or making bakinde; other pots are for brewing beer, while long-necked varieties are used for washing the face and hands - this last type may have a head adorning the neck. Each type has its own Zande name. Decoration often covers the whole surface. Larken goes on to describe the firing and finishing: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
Another characteristic of Zande pottery is that it is frequently mixed with small flecks of mica, which naturally occurs in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning 'slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of Mbitim demonstrates.
According to Larken, Zande men and women both practised cicatrisation, but 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring.
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
248] 1934 [insert] 8 [end insert] -
MAJOR P.
H.
G.
POWELL-COTTON
, Quex Park, Birchington, E.
Kent.
Specimens collected by himself & Mrs Cotton, during hunting trips, 1933, viz: [...] [p.
260] - From the
ZANDE
tribe, LIRANGO, YAMBIO, DINGBA & TAMBURA [p.
262] [insert] 135 [end insert] - Pottery book-end with seated human figure in relief (evidently made under European influence.
(1091).
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 261] - 1934.8.135 no. given. NM. Pair to 1934.8.135 received December 1996 (1996.53.1) [red biro] A24.F.17.31-32.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].
Related Documents File - This object appears as a handwritten addition to a typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Zande Tribe", item 1091: "BOOK END [male symbol] figure sitting (broken)”. This entry has been added by hand to the end of this section; other Zande material was collected by Powell-Cotton between 27/4/1933 and 29/4/1933 within the modern administrative district of Western Equatoria, at the sites of Li Rangu, Dingba, Yambio and on the road to Tambura. This object also appears on a typewritten list of Zande pottery unpacked at Quex House on 6/10/1933: "B.1091, Book ends, pairs [male symbol] and [female symbol] figures". 'B' stands for 'Balfour', indicating that the pair of book ends had been allocated by then to the PRM. One of these was remained behind at Quex House, until discovered there by the then Curator of the Powell-Cotton Museum, Derek Howlett, who arranged for it to be sent on to the PRM [see letter dated 9/10/1996 and subsequent correspondance in RDF 1996.53.1]. Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].
Written on object - 3 pairs of parallel lines are marked on the surface in pencil, 1 on the upright back, and 2 on different fragments of the the base underside. The meaning of these is not known; are they markings made to aid mending? [RTS 28/1/2005].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Book-end support, made by a ZANDE potter, 1933. BAHR-EL-GHAZAL. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (1091) [rectangular paper tag, stuck to back of object]. AFRICA, SUDAN, AZANDE. Portrait vessel. d.d. Major P.H.G. POWELL-COTTON, 1934.8.135 [Rectangular plastic tag with metal eyelet, tied to object; note object is a book-end, not a vessel; RTS 6/12/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 261] - 1934.8.135 no. given. NM. Pair to 1934.8.135 received December 1996 (1996.53.1) [red biro] A24.F.17.31-32.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].
Related Documents File - This object appears as a handwritten addition to a typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Zande Tribe", item 1091: "BOOK END [male symbol] figure sitting (broken)”. This entry has been added by hand to the end of this section; other Zande material was collected by Powell-Cotton between 27/4/1933 and 29/4/1933 within the modern administrative district of Western Equatoria, at the sites of Li Rangu, Dingba, Yambio and on the road to Tambura. This object also appears on a typewritten list of Zande pottery unpacked at Quex House on 6/10/1933: "B.1091, Book ends, pairs [male symbol] and [female symbol] figures". 'B' stands for 'Balfour', indicating that the pair of book ends had been allocated by then to the PRM. One of these was remained behind at Quex House, until discovered there by the then Curator of the Powell-Cotton Museum, Derek Howlett, who arranged for it to be sent on to the PRM [see letter dated 9/10/1996 and subsequent correspondance in RDF 1996.53.1]. Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].
Written on object - 3 pairs of parallel lines are marked on the surface in pencil, 1 on the upright back, and 2 on different fragments of the the base underside. The meaning of these is not known; are they markings made to aid mending? [RTS 28/1/2005].
Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Book-end support, made by a ZANDE potter, 1933. BAHR-EL-GHAZAL. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (1091) [rectangular paper tag, stuck to back of object]. AFRICA, SUDAN, AZANDE. Portrait vessel. d.d. Major P.H.G. POWELL-COTTON, 1934.8.135 [Rectangular plastic tag with metal eyelet, tied to object; note object is a book-end, not a vessel; RTS 6/12/2004].
Display History:
Formerly displayed in case C.150.A, but removed during museum building work and put into storage at Osney with its paired bookend [RTS 28/1/2005].
