Dagger with obsidian blade and tapering handle, painted red, black and white, with carved geometric designs. [SM 26/07/2007]

Collection type: Object
Description: Dagger with obsidian blade and tapering handle, painted red, black and white, with carved geometric designs. [SM 26/07/2007]
Geographical reference: Papua New Guinea
Oceania > Melanesia > Papua New Guinea; Bismarck Archipelago Admiralty Islands
Person: Field collector Henry Balfour; PRM source Henry Balfour
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1911
Date collected: By 1911
Acquisition information: Bequeathed: 1939
Materials and processes: Material Obsidian Stone, Material Plant Nut, Material Sago Palm Fibre Plant, Material Pigment, Process Flaked, Process Carved, Process Painted, Process Decorated
Dimensions: Length: max 280 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1938.35.1406 Other numbers: 2076
Research and responses: Ref. Robin Torrence. 2003. 'Ethnoarchaeology, museum collections and prehistoric exchange: obsidian-tipped artifacts from the Admiralty Islands.' World Archaeology 24.3: 467-481. On p. 472 Torrence describes the manufacture of these daggers, the handles being made of parinarium nut putty over sago fibre, painted or incised while still damp. [LM 30/07/2007]

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