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2022.77.1

Embroidered tablecloth featuring the signatures of delegates who participated in the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) visit to South Africa in 1905.

2022.77.1

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Embroidered tablecloth featuring the signatures of delegates who participated in the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) visit to South Africa in 1905.
Long description
Embroidered tablecloth documenting the British Association visit to South Africa in 1905, featuring the signatures of different delegates as well as the dates and locations of stops made throughout the trip. Some of the names include Alfred Cort Haddon, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, Arthur Jaffé, William Crookes, Emily Poulton, and Lilian Clarke. There are two embroidered maps showing the route taken by the group and stitched images of sites they saw along the way, including local flora and fauna, Victoria Falls, and the Pyramids of Giza. The tablecloth also records the name of the passenger ship (SS Durham Castle) which transported delegates between August and October 1905 and is signed in one of the corners 'worked by G. MABEL ROSE'. All of the women's signatures are sewn with red thread whilst all the men are sewn in black thread.
Person
Maker Gertrude Mabel Rose
Associated person British Association for the Advancement of Science
Associated person Alfred Cort Haddon
Associated person Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown
Associated person Emily Poulton
Associated person Margaret Poulton
PRM source Helen Averley
Date / Period
Date made: 1905, uncertain
Acquisition information
Donated: 05/07/2022
Materials and processes
Material Cotton Seed Fibre Textile Plant, Process Woven, Process Embroidered
Dimensions
Length x Width: max 990 x 950 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 2022.77.1
Research and responses

A list of the different stops recorded in the embroidery are as follows:

SAXON AUG: TO OCT: 1905 DURHAM CASTLE

Madeira. Aug. 2nd

The Kloof Nek. ‘7 August. ’05.

BELGRAVE HOTEL DURBAN Aug: 22nd-24th

Colenso – 26 Aug: Klanquans

The Sanitorium [sic]. Maritzburg. Aug. 24th-26th

Ladysmith. Sunday 27th Aug. Wagon Hill.

Premier Diamond Mine. 31st Aug.

The Grand. Bloemfontein. September 2nd + 3rd

Madder River. Sept. 5.

SAVOY HOTEL. KIMBERLEY. September 5th-7th

Bulawayo. The Matopos. The World View. Sunday 10th September.

Victoria Falls. September 12th-13th, 1905.

SHEPHEARD’S HOTEL CAIRO Cairo, October 4-8

Sakkara Friday October 6th, 1905. Ghizeh Pyramids

‘B’. Special Train Saloon No: 489.N. 17+18

Search terms: Textile, Table-cloth

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