1979.20.65

Collection type

Object

Description

Annular ivory neck pendant, creamy-brown colour with two perforations. [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 7/10/2005]

Long description

Annular pendant counterpoise for a bead necklace, carved from a single piece of creamy yellow ivory (Pantone 134C), that has been polished on all surfaces. This has a flat front and back surface and slightly convex outer edges, and is almost oval in plan view, with a slightly pointed underside due to an irregularity on the outer face. It has been pierced with two holes through the upper body, which would have been used to attach the pendant to a necklace. A large oval hole has been cut out of the centre of the object, leaving a flat inside edge, except for the lower part which is serrated. The reason for this feature is not clear, unless it reflects the shape of another object, made from this central, cut-away piece of ivory. The pendant itself is said to have been made from a reused, broken ivory armlet; presumably this was taken as a slice cut from one side, and may explain the irregular thickness which ranges from 6.5 to 9 mm. It is complete, but has been mended from two joining fragments and still has some cracks visible on the surface. The pendant has a width of 67.5 mm and is 57.8 mm long, with the inside edges measuring 47 by 34 mm; the perforations have a diameter of 3 mm, and the object weighs 24.7 grams [RTS 25/5/2004].

Geographical reference

South Sudan

Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Dhangrial Wun Rog Mayen

Cultural groups

Dinka Tuich

Person

Field collector Patti Langton

PRM source Patti Langton

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1979

Date collected

20 February 1979

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1979

Materials and processes

Material Animal Ivory Tooth, Process Recycled, Process Carved, Process Perforated, Process Polished

Dimensions

Width: max 67.5 mm, Length: max 57.8 mm, Thick: max 9 mm, Weight 24.7 g

Object numbers

Accession number: 1979.20.65 Other numbers: Langton Collection 144

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, Wun Rog and Mayen lie 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 [RTS 9/8/2004].

Langton states that this object was made from 'broken ivory arm bands'. As it appears to have been carved from a single piece of ivory, it must have been removed as a thin slice cut from one side of a thick arm band [RTS 14/5/2004].

Related Documents File - 1979.20 contains a typed packing list, which has been annotated; a typed list of objects arranged by Langton collection numbers and with pencil and biro annotations, and a handwritten list of objects by museum number, essentially repeating this information and annotated with PRM photo numbers in red. This handwritten list seems to be the direct source for the accession book entry [RTS 12/1/2004].

Search terms: Ornament, Neck Ornament, Pendant, Back Ornament