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1917.21.3

Neck ornament made from ostrich eggshell disc beads and a single striped glass bead strung on twisted plant fibre cord [RTS 11/8/2004].

1917.21.3

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Collection type
Object
Description
Neck ornament made from ostrich eggshell disc beads and a single striped glass bead strung on twisted plant fibre cord [RTS 11/8/2004].
Long description
Necklet, consisting of a length of cord made from two strands of yellowish brown plant fibre (Pantone 7508C) twisted together then knotted loosely at the top. This fibre seems stiff and may be composed of grass or bark strips. The cord has been strung with a series of 352 white ostrich eggshell beads, each chipped into a circular disc with flat upper and lower surfaces, a medium sized to small thread hole through the centre, and with polished outer edges. These gradually increase in size, from a diameter of 8.4 mm at the ends of the necklace, to 18.8 mm at its centre. In addition, there is a single opaque glass bead strung at one end. This has a cylindrical body with black matrix (Pantone black 6C) and alternating thin white and thick red stripes (Pantone 201C) along the outside face of the body; it was probably manufactured by being drawn and then cut to the appropriate length; each end has been cut at an angle. The hole would be a feature of the cane from which this was made, rather than the result of individual perforation. The necklet is nearly complete, but a few ostrich eggshell beads have been chipped and are missing parts of their outer edges and the cord is beginning to fray in places. It has a weight of 201.1 grams, and a length of 387 mm as strung, with the cord having a diameter of 2.7 mm and the glass bead being 12 mm long and 7.2 mm in diameter [RTS 11/8/2004].
Geographical reference
Sudan, Republic of
Africa > Northern Africa > Sudan, Republic of
South of Kodok Upper Nile Bahr el Abiad
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1917
Date collected
By 1917
Acquisition information
Donated: 1917
Materials and processes
Material Ostrich Eggshell Bird, Material Glass, Material Plant Fibre, Process Chip Carved, Process Perforated, Process Twisted, Process Drawn, Process Strung
Dimensions
Length 387 mm, Diameter: max 18.8 mm ostrich eggshell beads, Weight 201.1 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1917.21.3
Research and responses

Fashoda is also known as Kodok, and is located in the Upper Nile administrative district. The 'White Nile' in this context is probably the Bahr el Abiad [RTS 7/11/2003].

Carey suggests that ostrich eggshell beads were made by chipping the material to the correct size then boring a hole through it, after soaking the eggshell in water to prevent the material splitting. Several partially worked beads could then be strung together and the edges ground to finish them off. It was possible to make around one hundred beads of this kind per day (M. Carey, Beads and Beadwork of East and South Africa, 1986, p. 9) [RTS 19/4/2004].

Search terms: Ornament, Bead, Neck Ornament

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