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1940.7.020

Unfinished leg ornament, consisting of an iron rod with twisted body and looped ends, not yet bent into anklet shape; type used by women [RTS 28/2/2005].

1940.7.020

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Collection type
Object
Description
Unfinished leg ornament, consisting of an iron rod with twisted body and looped ends, not yet bent into anklet shape; type used by women [RTS 28/2/2005].
Long description
Unfinished leg ornament, at the stage where it is ready to bend into a loop to form an anklet. This consists of an iron rod, round in section, that has been twisted around its body, then hammered flat at either end, with the tips bent over to form an open loop. One side of the body has been partially flattened; this may have been intentional, to create a smoother surface against the skin, a feature seen on some completed forms of this type. It is complete, and currently a metallic gray colour (Pantone 877C), with some surface rust in places. The rod has a weight of 25 grams, and is 311 mm long with a diameter of 4 by 3.5 mm at the centre of the rod, and a width of 4.3 mm and thickness of 1.3 mm at one end [RTS 1/3/2005].
Geographical reference
South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan
Bahr el Jebel Terakeka
Cultural groups
Bari (Nilotic)
Person
Field collector Samuel Peach Powell
PRM source Samuel Peach Powell
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1940
Date collected
By 1940
Acquisition information
Loaned: 1940
Materials and processes
Material Iron Metal, Process Forged (Metal), Process Hammered, Process Twisted, Process Bent
Dimensions
Length: max 311 mm, Thick: max 1.3 mm, Diameter: max 4 mm at centre, Width: max 4.3 mm at end, Weight 25 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1940.7.020
Research and responses

A province known as 'Equatoria' or 'Al Istiwa'iyah' was in existance from some time in the 1940's to 1981, after which point it was divided into the districts of Eastern and Western Equatoria; in the 1990's these were subdivided further into the modern administrative districts of Western Equatoria, Bahr el Jebel, and Eastern Equatoria. Note that the provenance of 'Terakka' (probably Terakeka) is given on the brown object tag, but was not recorded in the accession book entry. Terakeka is located in Bahr el Jebel province.

The object tag for 1940.7.021, which is the same type of object, collected by Powell at the same place, states that this is a 'woman's' ornament [RTS 28/2/2005].

Search terms: Ornament, Status, Technique, Leg Ornament

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