PCM object collections
Item Set
Title
PCM object collections
Relation
Items
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Waist belt made from a strip of palm leaf with scratched diamond decoration and frayed ends
Girl's waist belt for fastening aprons. Made from a flat strip of palm leaf with scratched decoration on the outside creating a textured pattern of dark diamond or triangle shapes. The ends are frayed and twisted into string ties. -
Topknot made from a tuft of long dark brown feathers and short lighter brown feathers
Topknot hair ornament made from a tuft of long dark brown feathers, with an outer layer of short lighter brown feathers. The quills of all the feathers are bent and sewn together at the base. There is a length of twisted natural fibre twine attached. This would have been worn on the head by a medicine man or woman. Collected for the Powell-Cotton sisters by missionary Pere Camille Laagel. -
Topknot hair pin with a large round green beaded ornamental head with three beaded attachments
Topknot hair pin with a large round green beaded ornamental head on top, with three strings of green beads attached, and a fourth which has become detached. This ornament, which was made to order for the Powell-Cotton sisters, was worn in the centre of a coiffed hairstyle, but the style had become less popular by the time they collected it. It was made from a flattened ball of wax attached to a wooden stick. Strings of small blue beads are then wound round the wax to cover it. -
Circular wire necklace of black patterned beads and four evenly spaced pairs of white beads
Beaded necklace made of a circular loop of stiff wire. The necklace is made of round black beads decorated with white spots and spirals. At four evenly spaced points there are pairs of white beads with blue and brown dots. There are 62 beads in total. The necklace is joined with a simple wire loop. This necklace was worn by women. -
Necklet made of looped wire with alternating black and white beads and five pendants
Necklet made of looped wire with alternating black and white beads and five pendants, some hanging on chains. Four of the pendants are rounded cross shaped European made medallions. Some have worn designs including lettering and figures, possibly images of Roman Catholic saints. The fifth is a locally made pendant made of a flat piece of gold coloured metal. The shape is a complex symmetrical geometric design decorated with arrows, triangles and diagonal hatching etched into it. The necklace fastens with one end of the wire made into a tiny loop and other end as hook. Worn by a woman. -
Eight wristlets made from the skin of a wildebeest some with decorative knobs
Eight wristlets, bracelets or bangles made from the skin of a wildebeest cut in a continuous loop. Some have a single decorative knob, also cut from the same piece of hide, others are plain. Worn by women. -
Necklace of ostrich egg shell beads with a pendant wound in small blue and white beads
Medicinal necklace made from a string of onjeva (ostrich egg) beads from which hangs a pendant wound with small blue beads and small white eggshell beads. The necklace has been stained red with lukula. -
Two earrings, one cog-shaped and one cross shaped, tied with string to a loop of brass
Two brass coloured metal earrings, attached to a loop of metal with thin string. One is in the shape of a cog, or sprocket, with a circular hole at the centre. There are four spokes leading to an outer circle which has teeth, apart from in one area where it is smooth. The circle is damaged at the end of the smooth area but the item is stable. The second earring is in the shape of an elongated templar cross with a cross hatched etching on one side. It has a protrusion at the top with a circular hole for attaching as an ornament. -
Necklace and three bracelets each made of two loops of cane wound in string
Necklace made of two circular loops of cane bound together with string. The string has been wound round the cane in a criss-cross design in groups of four or five threads. Three bracelets are tied to the necklace. Each bracelet is made of two circular loops of cane held together with string wound in groups of between four and eight threads. The ends of the cane loops of both types of object are held in place with a tightly wound plant fibre which is different to the decorative string. A reddish substance has been applied to the necklace. -
Hat with a flat crown and shallow round brim woven from palm leaf
Hat with a flat crown and shallow round brim, similar in shape to a boater, woven from palm leaf. The hat is constructed with a coiled basketry technique, with a spiral of palm leaf fibre sewn into place with lines of palm fibre stitching radiating from the centre of the crown. The sides of the crown are slightly convex, narrowing where they meet the brim. -
Basket containing 57 charms of various types including figures, horns, shells and metal objects
Shallow circular basket woven from cane, containing 57 charms of various types. This was a kit used by a diviner. The contents includes nine human figures carved from wood. Two of these have metal embellishments around the necks of the figures and one has a shell embellishment on its head. One of the figures is carved in a bowed kneeling position. There are seven items made of horn, one of which has a metal embellishment, ten shells or items made with shells, and eleven items made from claws, teeth or bones, including a leopard tooth. There are four metal items including a coin which reads 'REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA 5 CENTAVOS' and 'ANGOLA 1922'. There are two glass objects and one string of black and white glass beads with a metal object, possibly a bullet casing, attached. The remaining items are natural materials or mixed media. -
Bottle shaped gourd with a handle made of plant fibre wrapped in hide
Large bottle shaped gourd, wrapped around the bottom half with two handles made of plant fibre wrapped in hide. There is a hole in the top which has been reinforced with woven plant fibre around the rim. Notes made by the Powell-Cotton sisters suggest that the handle are for tying the gourd to a pole for churning.