1948.2.142

Collection type

Object

Description

Sub-rectangular wooden platter with two stylised horned animal-head handles and four thick legs [RTS 13/4/2005].

Long description

Platter carved from a solid block of wood, consisting of a shallow platter top with thick rounded rim and gently concave interior hollow, sub-rectangular in plan view. This is flanked on either end with 2 large lug handles, carved in the shape of a stylised animal's head with 2 upright horns and a deep v-shaped groove between, on a triangular head with vertically shaved sides tapering down to a blunt muzzle. These do not extend to the ground. The underside of the platter is slightly convex, flattening towards the centre, and has four thick legs extending from it. Each leg is roughly oval in plan view, and has been shaved down the sides to give it a faceted or fluted appearance. The wood is yellow (Pantone 7509C), but has been stained over the visible areas with a dark brown to reddish brown colour (Pantone 731C); the surface has also been polished. The stool is nearly complete; the lower part of one handle, and the tip and a small part of the base of the other handle is missing; small sections are also missing from the base of one foot, while there are small cracks in the rim and one foot, and insect bore holes visible around the legs. It is 184 mm high, and measures 460 mm long between the handles; the platter top is 360 mm long, 266 mm wide and 24.7 mm thick, while the handles are 108.5 mm long, 69.6 mm wide and 56.3 mm thick, and the legs measure 72 by 58 mm across [RTS 13/4/2005].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Cultural groups

Jur

Person

Field collector Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

PRM source Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1948

Date collected

By 1948

Acquisition information

Found unentered: 1948

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Stained

Dimensions

Width 266 mm platter, Height 190 mm, Length 360 mm platter, Length: max 460 mm, Weight 1000 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1948.2.142

Research and responses

A similar shaving technique to that seen on the legs of this stool is also found on other Zande objects, such as 1931.66.36 and 1940.12.608 (rubbing board oracles), 1948.2.137 and 140 (bowls), 1948.2.141 (platter stool) or 1917.25.72 (lamellaphone) [RTS 11/4/2005].

Search terms: Vessel, Figure, Plate, Animal Figure