1936.75.4

Collection type

Object

Description

Painted skull of bear.

Geographical reference

Nepal

Asia > Southern Asia > Nepal

Person

Field collector Mrs Alexander Scott

PRM source Mrs Alexander Scott

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1936

Date collected

By 1936

Acquisition information

Purchased: 09/1936

Materials and processes

Material Pigment, Material Animal Bone, Process Painted

Dimensions

Length: max 320 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1936.75.4

Associated publications

Illustrated in colour on page 25 of 'People Watching [Jenny Lunnon Surveys a Century of People Watching]', by Jenny Lunnon, in Oxford Today: The University Magazine, Vol. XVIII, no. 1 (Michaelmas 2005), pp. 24-36. [JC 4 11 2005] Related Documents File - Pitt Rivers Museum postcard - 'Detail of bear's skull painted with mythical scenes relating to the Dance of the Bear. Nepal.' [MOB 5/12/2001] This object features in the Museum's audio tour produced in 2010. Part transcription as follows: "...to the right you will find a bear skull from Nepal that has been brightly painted with scenes from a bear dance. It is no coincidence that bear ceremonialism has occurred in the northern parts of Eurasia and North America for thousands of years, where bears are most prevalent. Nor it is surprising that the slaying of a large-bodied predator, yielding a feast of meat, would become ritualised in these traditionally hunter-gatherer societies. Even in Celtic Britain, two goddesses took the form of the bear, as bears were native to this country until their extinction in the Middle Ages.” (Written by Helen Hales). For full entry and bibliography see 1900.78.84. [HH 26/10/2010]

Search terms: Animalia, Religion, Dance, Animal Part, Religious Object