Large grass basket decorated with three brown bands around circumference, for carrying grain [RTS 2/8/2005].

Collection type: Object
Description: Large grass basket decorated with three brown bands around circumference, for carrying grain [RTS 2/8/2005].
Long description: Large basket used for carrying grain, consisting of a slightly everted circular rim and deep body with straight sides that flare in slightly before curving in to a flattened base. This has been made using a stake and strand twining technique that consists of vertical groups of stiff yellow grass stems (Pantone 7508C), interwoven with horizontal grass stems. The top of the vertical elements have been bent over and woven into a neatly finished and reinforced rim that protrudes slightly from the body. At the base, the vertical elements cross over one another to form a decorative star with eight arms, visible on both the interior and exterior of the vessel. Some of the grass stems have been dyed a dark grayish brown colour (Pantone 405C), creating 3 horizontal bands of decoration around the body. The interior has been plastered with dark brown fibrous dung as a sealant (Pantone Black 4C); a few small grains or seeds have become trapped in this material on the interior walls and base. The basket is complete and intact, and has a weight in excess of 1000 grams. It has a height of 330 mm and a rim diameter of 460 mm, which is also the maximum diameter of the vessel. The grass stems that make up the bodywork have a typical width of 3 mm [RTS 2/8/2005].
Geographical reference: South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan; Northern Bahr el Ghazal Dhangrial
Cultural groups: Dinka Tuich
Person: Field collector John Mack; Field collector Museum of Mankind; PRM source Patti Langton
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1979
Date collected: 17 February 1979
Acquisition information: Purchased: 1979
Materials and processes: Material Grass Stem Plant, Material Animal Dung, Material Plant Seed, Process Basketry, Process Twined Woven, Process Decorated, Process Dyed, Process Stained
Dimensions: Height: max 310 mm, Diameter: max 460 mm, Weight 1000 g
Object numbers: Accession number: 1979.20.48 Other numbers: Langton Collection 89
Research and responses: At the time this object was collected, the Bahr el Ghazal province was bordered by the Upper Nile Province to the east and Western Equatoria to the south; this area is now divided into the districts of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and parts of Warab and El Buheyrat. Dhangrial is located within Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka, p. 25.
The same type of grass stem is used to make baskets 1979.20.44-47 (which are also made in the same style) and 1979.20.112; this material is a type of swamp grass known locally as riath or riet (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 77 and p. 109 under 'basket'). According to the record for 1979.20.44, the darker coloured bands were made by staining the strands with mud. Winnowing trays 1979.20.71-72 are also made in the same style, and may have been sometimes used as matching covers for these vessels. The way in which the body was woven is much clearer from these trays, which show the vertical struts radiating out from the central 'star' at the base, and then dividing a number of times before reaching the rim [RTS 2/8/2005]

Search terms: Basketry, Food and Drink, Agriculture and Horticulture, Transport and Travel, Basket, Food Accessory, Carrying Device