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1903.16.118

Narrow wooden throwing club with pointed head, grooved lower body and tapering flat butt [RTS 11/5/2005].

1903.16.118

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Collection type
Object
Description
Narrow wooden throwing club with pointed head, grooved lower body and tapering flat butt [RTS 11/5/2005].
Long description
Throwing club carved from a single piece of ebony, consisting of a pointed head with flattened tip, swelling out below into a narrow, oval-sectioned body that reaches its maximum diameter about one third the way along its length, with the shaft then tapering in to a flat ended butt. The lower half of the club has been decorated with a series of parallel v-shaped grooves running down the sides. The wood is a orange brown colour (Pantone 4635C) banded with darker reddish brown (Pantone black 4C); this has been polished throughout. The club is complete, and intact, except for a small area of surface damage on the lower body. It has a weight of 657.1 grams and is 740 mm long, with a maximum diameter of 36.2 by 34 mm, and a minimum diameter at the end of 20 by 19.5 mm [RTS 11/5/2005].
Geographical reference
South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan
Jonglei Bor
Cultural groups
Shilluk
Person
Field collector Donald Gunn
PRM source Donald Gunn
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1903
Date collected
By 1903
Acquisition information
Donated: 1903
Materials and processes
Material Ebony Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Polished
Dimensions
Length 740 mm, Diameter: max 36.2 mm, Weight 657.1 g
Object numbers
Accession number: 1903.16.118
Research and responses

Bor is located on the Bahr el Jebel river, in the modern Sudanese administrative district of Jonglei, close to the border with El Buheyrat. Shir is an alternative name for the Mandari, who occupy the area south of Bor; however the cultural attribution of the object was changed to Shilluk when the club was accessioned; a later ebony club of very similar form, 1966.1.214, also said to be Shilluk. According to Jeremy Coote, both the Mandari and Shilluk use clubs of this type, and either would be possible in this context; Gunn did however collect a lot of Shilluk material [RTS 6/4/2005].

Search terms: Weapon, Club

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