- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Narrow bullock's collar made of plaited hide strips in a herringbone design, with one end looped over the other [RTS 30/11/2004].
- Long description
- Bullock's collar, consisting of a narrow rectangular band made of plaited hide strips in a 2-row herringbone design. The body is made as 2 parallel sections, each composed of 2 strips pierced by a series of lentoid holes and woven in and out of each other, with the sections fastened together by a thin hide thong that interweaves horizontally across the body and is visible along the long sides as a series of simple loops. This creates a flat band with rectangular section. At one end, these two parts then combine to form a thicker oval sectioned body that then divides to form a simple loop at the end, still using the herringbone technique. At the other end of the collar, there is a similar thick oval sectioned part; the component strips have been wound horizontally around the end of this, and then vertically over themselves to create a raised knob. The end loop fits over this knob to fasten the collar in place around the animal's neck. The outer surface of the collar has been burnished. The collar is complete, with some patches of surface wear, and ranges from a light yellowish brown (Pantone 7509C) to a darker brown colour (Pantone 439C). It has a weight of 155.7 grams, and is 370 mm long, 28 mm wide and 7.5 mm thick, with the thicker ends measuring 14.5 by 11 mm across, the knob having a diameter of 28 mm, and the loop having an opening of 32 by 24 mm. The collar itself, at its full extent, has an internal opening that measures 325 by 225 mm across [RTS 30/11/2004].
- Geographical reference
- Cultural groups
- Nuer
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1936?, uncertain
- Date collected
- 1930 - 1931 or 1935 - 1936
- Acquisition information
- Found unentered: 1948
- Materials and processes
- Material Animal Hide Skin, Process Plaited, Process Perforated, Process Wound, Process Burnished
- Dimensions
- Width 225 mm internal of collar, Length 370 mm, Length 325 mm internal of collar, Width 28 mm, Weight 155.7 g
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1948.2.156
- Research and responses
This object was probably collected when Evans-Pritchard did his fieldwork amongst the Nuer, with expeditions taking place in 1930, 1931, 1935 and 1936 (see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer; a map showing the areas visited is published in D.H. Johnson, "Evans-Pritchard, the Nuer, and the Sudan Political Service", African Affairs 81 no. 323, p. 233).
For a Dinka Tuich cow collar made using similar techniques, and used to hang a bell from the neck of a cow, see 1979.20.93; for a Nuer collar used for a similar purpose, see E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1940, The Nuer, fig. 4 [RTS 2/12/2004].
Search terms: Animal Gear, Cattle Accessory, Animal Collar, Animal Harness