1915.10.19

Collection type

Object

Description

Bag made of folded bark. [MJD DDF Body Arts Project 2010/2011 16/11/2010]

Long description

Bag made of folded bark. The bag is made of one piece of 'stringy bark' which is stitched on either side. The bag is wedge shaped. The opening is circular and half the rim is stitched. The bag is decorated with yellow and white pigment in a diamond pattern. Lines in one direction are white and over painted in the opposite direction with yellow lines. [MJD DDF Body Arts Project 2010/2011 16/11/2010]

Geographical reference

Australia

Oceania > Australia and New Zealand > Australia

Northern Territory Tiwi Islands; Melville Island

Cultural groups

Tiwi

Person

Field collector Henry Kenneth Fry

PRM source Henry Kenneth Fry

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1913-1914

Date collected

1913-14 ?

Acquisition information

Donated: 1915

Materials and processes

Material Bark Fibre Plant, Material Pigment, Process Bent, Process Stitched, Process Painted

Dimensions

Width 335 mm, Length 467 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1915.10.19 Other numbers: [23]

Research and responses

Of 'stringy-bark' (Eucalyptus tetradonta). For carrying food etc. Used in Pukamani funerary ceremonies. [LMM ?, undated]

Associated publications

Reference: Ancestors, artefacts, empire: Indigenous Australia in British and Irish museums, Main author: Gaye Sculthorpe; Main author: Maria Nugent; Main author: Howard Morphy; London, 2021, Page: 114, Page illustrated: 115, Notes: This object is illustrated as figure 11.3 on page 115 in Ancestors, artefacts, empire: Indigenous Australia in British and Irish museums, Gaye Sculthorpe, Maria Nugent and Howard Morphy, 2021 with the caption: Bark basket (tunga), c. 1913, from Melville Island. Large painted, folded and sewn bark baskets were used in funerary ceremonies to bring gifts. Afterwards, they were placed upside down on top of grave posts. Early observers noted that these baskets were made by women and painted by men. Their decorative nature appealed to collectors. Collected c.1913 by Dr Henry Kenneth Fry (1886-1959) and donated by him to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford in January 1915. H. 46.7 cm W. 33.5 cm. PRM 1915.10.19.

Illustrated in colour as figure 51 on page 47 of Australia in Oxford, edited by Howard Morphy and Elizabeth Edwards (Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, Monograph 4, 1988). [JC 1995]

Search terms: Bag, Vessel, Death, Religion, Ritual and Ceremonial, Transport and Travel, Grave Good, Carrying Device