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1931.86.307

Red-stained whale tooth, perforated and mounted on sennit carrying sling. [El.B 23/08/2011]

1931.86.307

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Collection type
Object
Description
Red-stained whale tooth, perforated and mounted on sennit carrying sling. [El.B 23/08/2011]
Person
Field collector Beatrice Mary Blackwood
PRM source Beatrice Mary Blackwood
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1930
Date collected
By ?October 1930
Acquisition information
Donated: 1931
Materials and processes
Material Whale Tooth Animal, Material Sennit Coconut Seed Fibre Plant, Process Plaited, Process Perforated
Dimensions
Length: max 170 mm tooth only, Length: max 340 mm tooth with cord
Object numbers
Accession number: 1931.86.307 Other numbers: Blackwood number 306
Research and responses

Examined on the 12th/13th June by Fergus Clunie and Andy Mills as part of the work of the AHRC-funded project 'Fijian Art: Political Power, Sacred Value, Social Transformation and Collecting Since the 18th Century' (2011-2014). His notes read: tabua damu - shaped. Native drilled original suspension hole historically at business end of tooth. Hole equivalent at butt end and [illegible word] by metal drilled top-down oblique suspension hole. Box chain with magimagi cord - harden - much younger than tooth itself. Box chain cord attached with magimagi cord. [FB 19/06/2012]

Related Documents File - i) List of 'Contents of Cases sent from Soraken in April 1930.' ii) Notes on: 'Mourning Belt'; 'Map of Buka and Bouganville, areas from which most of the specimens were collected are marked in ink'; 'String Making'; 'Fire'; 'Buka Pottery'; 'Photograph illustrating the use of the implement for scraping coconut'; 'Rite for a new fishing kite, Petats'; 'Fans'; 'Woman's Hoods'; iii) Correspondence: Letter from A. D. Cotton of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew to Beatrice Blackwood, dated 4 November, 1931, thanking her for her map, list of specimens and 'plants used for food magic' which she had sent to be identified; Letter from Arthur Hill, director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to Beatrice Blackwood, dated 23 December, 1931, stating that he is enclosing the identification of the plants she had sent to Kew [this list does not appear to be with this RDF file]; iv) Duplicate photographs of Beatrice Blackwood's Buka material. [GI 29/11/2001]

Search terms: Animalia, Animal Part

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