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1936.10.51

Grass ring-pad covered with zebra skin, for standing beer gourds on the ground [RTS 11/8/2004].

1936.10.51

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Collection type
Object
Description
Grass ring-pad covered with zebra skin, for standing beer gourds on the ground [RTS 11/8/2004].
Long description
Circular ring-shaped stand for a gourd, made from a solid frame of grass stems gathered together and bent into a loop, then tightly bound together by winding strips of yellowish brown grass around the body (Pantone 7510C). This frame was then covered with 2 rectangular strips of zebra hide. The surface of the hide is striped with white and dark brown hair (Pantone black 4C) in typical zebra patterning; there ae a few small holes and the hair has worn off in patches. These strips have been folded over the framework and sewn together using pieces of thick two stranded twisted plant fibre cord in a simple zigzag stitch running backwards and forwards across the join. This stitching runs around the inside circumference of the ring, and then around the width of the ring in two places where the separate pieces of hide meet. Two lengths of cord have been left projecting at the outer edge of one of these sections; these have been tied together to form a suspension loop, and then knotted off at the ends to stop these fraying. The cord is a light yellowish brown (Pantone 7509C). The object is essentially complete, apart from the wear to the skin covering; the ring has a circular section on one side, and a more flattened section on the other where the frame has become compressed, probably through use. It weighs 220.7 grams, and measures 222 by 215 mm across its outer diameter, and 135 by 137 mm across the inside diameter, with a height ranging from 35.5 to 29.4 mm. The cord has a diameter of 1.5 mm [RTS 11/8/2004].
Geographical reference
South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan
Cultural groups
Anywaa (Anuak)
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1936
Date collected
March - May 1935
Acquisition information
Donated: 1936
Materials and processes
Material Grass Fibre Plant, Material Zebra Skin Animal, Material Plant Fibre, Process Bound, Process Covered, Process Stitched, Process Twisted, Process Knotted
Dimensions
Depth: max 35.5 mm, Diameter: max 137 mm hole, Diameter: max 222 mm, Weight 220.7 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1936.10.51
Research and responses

Evans-Pritchard conducted his fieldwork amongst the Anuak between early March and May 1935 (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Political System of the Anuak of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p. 3) [RTS 22/3/2004].

Search terms: Food and Drink, Food Accessory