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1899.78.4.1

Wooden weaving sword with carved butt. For the other associated weaving apparatus see [1899.78.4 .2 - .8]

1899.78.4.1

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Wooden weaving sword with carved butt. For the other associated weaving apparatus see [1899.78.4 .2 - .8]
Long description
Wooden weaving sword with lenticular section which tapers to a blunt point at one end. At the opposite end is an expanded butt which splits into two projections at right angles. This is decoratively carved on one side with linear designs. For the other associated weaving apparatus see [1899.78.4 .2 - .8]
Geographical reference
Nigeria
Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria
Benin
Cultural groups
Edo
Person
Field collector Unknown Collector
PRM source William Downing Webster
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1899
Date collected
By 1899 probably 1897
Acquisition information
Purchased: 10/1899
Materials and processes
Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Incised
Dimensions
Depth: max 7 mm, Width: max 48 mm, Length: max 816 mm
Object numbers
Other numbers: 7292 Other numbers: 189 Accession number: 1899.78.4.1
Research and responses

This collection of weaving equipment [1899.78.4.1-.8] was purchased in 1899 from antiquities dealer William Downing Webster, who was notorious for acquiring and dealing objects taken from Benin City during the British military attack of 1897. The equipment is part a collection of objects purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum from Webster on 20th October 1899 for £5. 6s. 6d, paid for by the Museum Maintenance of Collections Fund.

This weaving sword is listed as lot 189 (no. 7292) in Webster's catalogue no. 21: "189 (7292) Flat hard wood stick, carved at end, probably used in weaving, 32 1/4 inches long (BENIN CITY) £1.0s. 0d." [JMC 10/03/2023]

Associated publications
Object: Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographical Specimens Photographic Reference, Main author: William Downing Webster, Page: 87, Page illustrated: 77, Catalogue number: 189 (7292), Notes: Listed as lot 189 (lot 7292) in Webster's catalogue no. 21: "189 (7292) Flat hard wood stick, carved at end, probably used in weaving, 32 1/4 inches long (BENIN CITY) £1.0s. 0d."
Listed as nos RO/20 - RO/27 on p. 2.1.33 in Philip J. C. Dark, An Illustrated Catalogue of Benin Art, Boston, MA: G. K. Hall, 1982. This object is entered as object 189 in Webster's catalogue no. 21. (Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographical Specimens Photographic Reference SE, 2017) "189 (7292) Flat hard wood stick, carved at end, probably used in weaving, 32 1/4 inches long (BENIN CITY) £1.0s. 0d."

Search terms: Textile, Loom Part, Weaving Accessory

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