1936.10.76

Collection type

Object

Description

Small flask made from a gourd, with disc shaped lid attached to the neck with fibre cord; used for castor-oil or cosmetics [RTS 30/6/2004].

Long description

Small gourd with the narrow top cut flat, a long narrow neck that swells out convexely at the top, then becomes virtually straight below, and a globular body with convex base. The surface is a dark red colour (Pantone 476C) with some curving lighter red bands dividing the lower body into segments (Pantone 470C). A small, roughly circular flat disc of gourd has been cut to shape, slightly larger than the gourd neck, and serves as a lid. This has been pierced by four small holes, forming a rectangle. There are a further four circular holes bored into the neck near the rim. These have been used to fasten the lid in place over the vessel mouth, by threading twisted plant fibre through the neck holes, then passing the cord up through the underside of the lid, with the four separate strands then knotted on the top and twisted together to form a single cord extending up above the lid. The ends of this have not been secured, and are beginning to unravel. The object is complete, but the gourd has a small hole in its body, with a large crack running away from this on either side; the cord surface looks to have been darkened from its original colour, and is currently a dark brown (Pantone black 4C). It has a height of 190 mm, including the cord, and 130 mm from the top of the lid to the base of the gourd. The lid is 14.5 mm long, 13.4 mm wide and 1 mm thick. The gourd neck has a diameter of 21.6 mm at its broadest point, and 12.8 mm at its most narrow part; the body measures 56.5 by 54.8 mm. The holes through the gourd body have a diameter of 1 mm; the individual cord strands have diameters of 1 mm, while the thicker cord segment has a diameter of 2 mm. The gourd and its lid weigh 9.4 grams in total [RTS 30/6/2004].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Cultural groups

Anywaa (Anuak)

Person

Field collector Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

PRM source Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1936

Date collected

March - May 1935

Acquisition information

Donated: 1936

Materials and processes

Material Gourd Plant, Material Plant Fibre, Process Hollowed, Process Dried, Process Perforated, Process Twisted, Process Tied

Dimensions

Diameter: max 21.6 mm neck, Diameter: max 56.5 mm, Diameter: max 14.5 mm lid, Height 190 mm incuding cord, Height 130 mm excluding cord, Weight 9.4 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1936.10.76

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).

Although the card states 'short leather thong attached to bottom', this was not found to be the case; however there is a plant fibre cord fastening the lid in place on the top.

For a similar flask, see 1936.10.75 [RTS 17/8/2005].

Search terms: Vessel, Toilet, Food and Drink, Body Art, Cosmetic Vessel, Food Accessory, Toilet Article, Body Art Accessory