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1944.10.66

Carved arrow with notched and incised ebony point on a decorated cane shaft with bound and nocked end [RTS 26/5/2005].

1944.10.66

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Collection type
Object
Description
Carved arrow with notched and incised ebony point on a decorated cane shaft with bound and nocked end [RTS 26/5/2005].
Long description
Arrow consisting of a dark brown ebony arrowhead (Pantone black 4C), with a narrow body that tapers out slightly along its length before narrowing again at its base. The upper body has been decorated with 4 pairs of deep notches, running in 2 rows down the sides, and arranged so that each pair is at right angles to the pair above it. The section between the lower 2 pairs has also been covered with incised crosshatching. Shaving marks are visible down the rest of the body, which has been fitted at its base into the socketed top of a cane shaft with a body made up of 5 segments along its length, very slightly oval in section. This is yellow in colour (Pantone 729C), but has traces of a reddish brown pigment over the surface (Pantone 4695C). This has been bound around the junction of tang and shaft with a narrow strip of animal hide, designed to prevent the wood splitting on impact, and a pale yellow colour (Pantone 7506C). There is a second section of binding just above the butt, which is nocked, with 2 rectangular notches cut into either side. The lower shaft has also been decorated, possibly with an owner's mark, consisting of 3 rows of a tight zigzag pattern. The arrow appears to be complete and intact. It has a weight of 40.1 grams and a total length of 1038 mm. The visible area of the arrowhead has a length of 298 mm and a diameter of 8.5 mm, while the wooden shaft is 740 mm long, with a diameter of 9.8 by 9.4 mm and a nock length of 15 mm; the binding is 22 mm long around the upper part, and 13 mm long around the lower end [RTS 26/5/2005].
Geographical reference
Sudan, Republic of
Africa > Northern Africa > Sudan, Republic of
Blue Nile Darfung
Cultural groups
Burun
Person
Field collector L. Gorringe
PRM source Mrs L. Gorringe
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1912
Date collected
1902 - 1912
Acquisition information
Donated: 1944
Materials and processes
Material Cane Plant, Material Ebony Wood Plant, Material Animal Hide Skin, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Notched, Process Socketed, Process Bound, Process Decorated, Process Incised
Dimensions
Length: max 1038 mm, Diameter: max 9.8 mm shaft, Diameter: max 8.5 mm arrowhead, Length: max 298 mm arrowhead, Length: max 740 mm shaft, Weight 40.1 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1944.10.66
Research and responses

Dar Fung seems to be the same as Darfung, in the Roseires Dam region of the Blue Nile administrative district (see http://www.calle.com/world/sudan/Da.html). The binding material appears to be animal hide, rather than membrane [RTS 26/5/2005].

Search terms: Archery Weapon, Hunting, Arrow, Arrow-head, Arrow Shaft, Weapon

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