Description

Ornament consisting of two long thin curved pieces of bone [.1, .2] and a boar's tusk [.3] with the root cavity plugged with wood. The two bone pieces bound together with a textile strip. [El.B 6/12/2005]

Publications History

Referred to on p. 8 of 'Haida Art in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, and the Rev. Charles Harrison', by June Bedford, in European Review of Native American Studies, Vol. XII, no. 2 (1998), pp. 1-10. [JC 16 4 1999]

Longer Description

Ornament consisting of two long thin curved pieces of bone [.1, .2] and a boar's tusk [.3] with the root cavity plugged with a carved piece of wood. The two bone pieces bound together with a textile strip. [CAK 23/06/2009]

Research Notes

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum's collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:
This object was viewed alongside shamanic objects on Friday Sept 11, 2009. Christian White identified the bone as wild pig bone. He noted that wild pigs are not native to Haida Gwaii and thus the material would have been traded for. See also 1891.49.110 and 1891.49.117. [CAK 31/03/2010]

Primary Documentation

Accession book entry: 'From Rev. Ch. Harrison, 80 Halton Rd, Canonbury Sq. N. Collection of Haida objects collected by him.... - 117-118 Found unentered: 2 charms consisting of one large tooth (boar's tusk ?) and two long thin bone pieces all attached by a leather cord.
Added Accession entry - Note - If Haida, the boar's tusk must have been obtained from Pacific Island sailors who often formed part of the crews of ships sailing up the N. W. coast. cf. Hawaiian ornaments made of walrus ivory. [MJD 01/04/2009]

No catalogue cards have been found. [JC 12 11 1996]

Written on object [.1-.3 each] - HAIDA. C. HARRISON COLLN. PURCHASED 1891. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 6/12/2005]

Written on object [.2] - Harrison coll 1891 [in pencil] [MJD 01/04/2009]

Related Documents File - The Haida Project Related Documents File contains video of research sessions and interviews with Haida delegates from September 2009 as part of the project ‘Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge'. It also includes post-visit communications that discuss object provenance. For extensive photographic, video, and textual records documenting the Haida research visit as a whole, including but not limited to preparations of objects for handling, travel logistics, British Museum participation, transcribed notes from research sessions and associated public events held at PRM, see the Haida Project Digital Archive, stored with the Accessions Registers. Original hand-written notes taken during research sessions have been accessioned into the Manuscripts collection, in addition to select other materials. [CAK 02/06/2010]