Object: Drum & drum tool

E/1930/1/65
Peyote water drum and antler drum tool
Unknown tribe
North America: Plains
Early 20th century
Materials: cast iron, hide, horn, stone, and cord

This object is a kettle drum in the style of the Native American (Peyote) Church. Depending on the tribal affiliation(s) of the drum owner, drums like this one in the Ethnology Collection are typically made from a one gallon (#6) cast iron kettle with three small peg legs on the bottom, sometimes referred to as a dutch oven. The kettle is filled with a small quantity of water and is then covered with a piece of hide, held on by a long piece of rope or cord that is intricately wrapped around seven round stones (or walnuts). A small antler or wooden tool is used to help tie the drum securely. Below you can see a short video that illustrates how drums like this are tied.

Drums play an important role in the songs that are a staple of Native American Church ceremonies. During these ceremonies, which can last all night, each member sings while accompanied by a drum and rattle. The singing begins with the Roadman, or spiritual leader of the group, who sings four songs. After the Roadman, the other members of the group each sing. This rotation is usually completed four times during the night. A sample of a Native American Church song, featuring a similar drum can be found here. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Funerary plaque

C/1984/4/7
Funerary plaque
Southern Arabian Peninsula
1st century BCE
Material: Alabaster

In ancient times the area of southern Arabia, in the modern countries of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman, was home to a number of kingdoms that prospered through caravan trade routes with the cultures of the Mediterranean. Some of these kingdoms include: Saba (referred to as Sheba in the Bible), Hadramawt, Himyar, Qataban and Ma’in. There was often warfare between them over control of frankincense and myrrh: highly prized aromatics burnt on altars all over the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean world. The most important deity of these kingdoms was the Moon-god. This god was known by many names but was always shown in art as a bull. The Qatabanians called this deity Amm, and thought of him as their patron deity. Bull head plaques like this one were especially popular on funerary stele at Heid ibn Aqil, the cemetery at Tamna. A similar plaque can be found in the British Museum.

The stone used to carve this plaque and many other pre-Islamic Southern Arabian sculptures is alabaster. This type of stone is sedimentary, which means it was formed when sediments were compressed together over time by water and/or other layers of sediment and cemented together by the combination of minerals and chemicals. Sedimentary rock tends to be softer and easier to carve than igneous or metamorphic types of rock. Alabaster was a popular stone for carving in ancient times and examples of it can be found in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian arts as well as those of Southern Arabia. These ancient artists would shape the stone using stone or metal drills, chisels, saws, and hammers. While the materials used to make these tools have changed over the centuries many of the tool forms used for sculpting stone remain the same today. Below you will find a video showing modern versions of these types of tools and how they are used.

[Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Figurine

C/1984/4/6
Yemen: Carved Face Votive
Middle East,  Marib, Wadi Beihan, Aden (Yemen)
1st Century B.C.
Materials:  Alabaster

This object is a carved face votive of alabaster.  The wedge-shaped stone has one rough surface and the opposite is smooth with a carved stylized face.  The face consists of a 1.5” band representing hair across the top of the face (forehead).  The nose is long, wedge-shaped and extends down the face.  The surface of the nose is flat and smooth.  The eyes are elliptical with raised eye lids and a center pupil.  A mouth is represented by a raised ellipse which is incised in the center.  The three remaining sides of the square frame the face.   This represents a beard and is stained with a red-orange ink (possibly henna).

Ancient Yemen was centered around the Port of Aden on the Gulf of Arabia.  The country engaged in the lucrative trade of frankincense and myrrh.  It was invaded by the Romans in the 1st century A.D., and converted to Islam in A.D. 628.  According to Judeo-Christian legend, the Biblical Queen of Sheba was from Yemen.

Alabaster has been mined and worked in Yemen since Pre-Islamic times.  The ancient Yemenis carved it into stelai and monuments, as well as thinly sliced the mineral for use as windows.  Alabaster is the name applied to two distinct minerals:  gypsum and calcite.  Gypsum is the alabaster of today, while calcite is the alabaster of the ancients.  The two kinds are distinguished from one another easily, because of differences in their relative hardness. The gypsum kind is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail.  The calcite kind is too hard to be scratched in this manner; however, it is easily carved with a knife.

[Debra Taylor]

Object: Knife

E/1956/7/21
Admiralty Islanders: Knife
Melanesia: Oceania
20th century
Materials: Clay, Obsidian

This object is a knife with and incised and painted clay handle. The triangular blade is made from obsidian.

Melanesia is a sub-region of Oceania extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and northeast of Australia. The original inhabitants of the islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present day Papuan-speaking people. These people are thought to have occupied New Guinea approximately 35,000 years ago (according to radiocarbon dating). They appear to have occupied these islands as far east as the main islands in the Solomon Islands. Along with New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands, the Admiralty Islands were first inhabited by the initial wave of migration out of South-East Asia that also populated Australia. This early society appears to have cultivated taro, and to have deliberately introduced wild animals from New Guinea such as bandicoots and large rats. Since antiquity, obsidian has been gathered and traded throughout the Admiralty Islands archipelago.

The region is one of the most geographically complex areas on Earth, with a diverse range of islands of varying age and development. The two main islands of the Bismarck Archipelago, New Ireland and New Britain, are mountainous, with peaks exceeding 2,000 meters. Several of the smaller islands in the archipelago are recent volcanoes, some still active. Habitats include coastal vegetation, mangrove forests, freshwater swamp forests, lowland rainforests, seasonally dry forests and grasslands, and mountain rainforests.

The East Melanesian Islands holds exceptional cultural and linguistic diversity. Vanuatu, for example, has 109 living traditional languages, more per unit area than any other country. The Solomon Islands, with 74 languages, is only slightly less diverse. Because many languages are spoken by only a few hundred people, they are dying out or mixing into Pijin-Austronesian-Creoles, leading to a rapid loss of traditional knowledge and practice.

Obsidian is the result of volcanic lava coming in contact with water. Often the lava pours into a lake or ocean and is cooled quickly. This process produces a glassy texture in the resulting rock. Iron and magnesium give the obsidian a dark green to black color. Obsidian has been used by ancient people as a cutting tool, for weapons, and for ceremonial purposes and is sometimes found by archaeologists in excavations.

Every volcano producing obsidian leaves a unique chemical fingerprint in the molecular structure of the stone. Because of this unique identity marker, obsidian stones can be traced to the source volcano. Analyses of obsidian artifacts from recent excavations in Borneo, Malaysia indicate the use of obsidian from multiple sources in Melanesia as early as the 5th millennium BC. The archaeological presence of obsidian, up to more than 3500 km from its source, is the surviving evidence of what was almost certainly the longest Neolithic trade route in the world.
[Debra Taylor]

Object: Teapot

E/1955/18/49
China
Ch’ing Dynasty
K’ang Hsi Period (1661-1722)
Materials:  Chalcedony

This object is a 4.5” high teapot with lid constructed of chalcedony.  The light gray colored teapot has engraved dragon designs on the sides.  The Imperial Dragon or Lung was considered to be a benevolent spiritual animal. Possessed with wisdom and power, the dragon symbolized the Emperors of China.

Chalcedony is a term referring to a variety of cryptocrystalline quartz gemstones. Chalcedony can be virtually any color of the rainbow. It is commonly pale blue, yellow, brown or gray with a wax-like luster. The gemstone is found in sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks.  Because of its abundance, durability, and beauty, chalcedony was a prized raw material by early humans. The earliest recorded use of chalcedony was for projectile points, knives, tools, and containers such as cups and bowls.

The teapot has been dated to the K’ang His Period of the Ch’ing Dynasty.  K’ang-hsi was the fourth emperor of the Ch’ing dynasty (1661-1722). He promoted learning in the arts and sciences, reduced taxes, and promoted water conservation which earned him a reputation for benevolence.

China is the homeland of tea. It is believed that China had tea-shrubs five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of tea-plants dates back about two thousand years. Tea from China began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago. At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world’s total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tea leaves or tea as a drink in many countries are derivatives from the Chinese character “cha.” The English word “tea” sounds similar to the pronunciation of its counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America until the 17th century. [Debra Taylor]

Object: Amulet

C/1953/57/1
Slate Turtle Amulet
Egyptian
Possibly Pre-Dynastic
Materials:  Slate

This object is a small (1 15/16” long) slate amulet from Egypt.  The thin slate disc is crudely carved in the outline of a turtle.  A hole is pierced near the tail for suspension.

The earliest representations of the Nile turtle date back to pre-dynastic times and were associated with magical significance that was meant to ward off evil.  Amulets such as this example were designed to defend the wearer’s health and life.  As time passed, the turtle became synonymous with drought, the enemy of the Sun god Ra.   Many times, a pair of tortoises would be depicted with a scale, representing the ebb and flow of the Nile‘s floodwaters.  Eventually, the turtle was associated with Set (the god of wind, desert storms, conflict and evil), and so with the enemies of Ra who tried to stop the solar barge as it traveled through the underworld to re-emerge with the new dawn.  Since the turtle was associated with night, it came to symbolize darkness and evil.  By the New Kingdom, the Sun god’s hostility toward the lowly turtle was even more strongly formulated in the phrase, “May Ra live and may the turtle die.”

Turtle shtyw

Belonging to the reptile order of Testudines, turtles are one of the oldest reptile groups known.  They are characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs.  This shell acts as a shield into which the turtle withdraws at danger.  Turtles

are cold-blooded, which means they can varying their internal temperature according to the ambient environment. Turtles live in both aquatic and terrestrial environments; however, they lay their eggs on land only.

The turtle amulet is made from slate.  Slate is a metamorphic rock derived from a shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash.  Usually grey in color, slate can be found in various shades of grey from pale to dark and may also be purple or green.  Care must be taken to not confuse slate with shale, from which it may be formed, or schist (granite).   [Debra Taylor]

Object: Cinerary Urn

C/1955/8/1
Unknown location
Roman
Materials: marble, metal

This object is a Roman cinerary urn made of marble. A cinerary urn is a type of container used to contain the cremated remains of an individual. In various times throughout Classical history cremation was the preferred method of burial. Cinerary urns could be made of a variety of materials, from terracotta to stone. Early cinerary urns from Greece were often in the form or large pottery jars. In Italy these urns tended to be rectangular in shape, and early examples were made to resemble houses. It is thought that these funerary containers were meant to be the “houses” for the dead. During Roman times these urns would be displayed in wall niches in a tomb or columbarium. Because of how the urns were displayed, the backs of the urns (like the one at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History) are undecorated.

This urn shows the figures of several Greco-Roman deities on the front. Starting from the left the first figure is probably Calliope, and is identified by her lyre. The second figure is easily recognizable as Mercury with his winged hat and caduceus. The third figure is Diana, shown with her signature bow and arrow. The final figure is Hercules, shown leaning on his club.

Front

The right side has some damage and was repaired in antiquity with metal, which can be seen from the top.

Right side

It is believed that the image on the left side of the cinerary urn shows a sacrifice of a sheep, or lamb. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Left side

A few other examples of cinerary urns can be found at:
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Australian National University Museum
The Britsh Museum

Object: Tea Screen

AS-04-22-008
China
Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644
Materials: Jade, semi-precious stones, wood

This object is an oval shaped jade tea screen inlaid with brightly colored stones to form decorative patterns. The jade is a light green and the stones range from red, green, black, orange, pink, and purple. The design is of rocks, a tree and a bird. There is also a wooden frame that fits around the edge.

The purpose of the screen, like many jade objects, is a decorative one. Of course, the screen itself had a use; it was placed upon the table to prevent drafts to the lamp stand of the tea kettle. This is a very fine piece however, in that it was made of jade and decorated. Jade was a highly sought after material because of its status symbols, and it was also believed to bring health and good luck to the owner, so its use here might have been to cleanse the tea.

For more information on jade, read The Collector’s Book of Jade by Arthur and Grace Chu and Jade-Essence of Hills and Streams by S. Howard Hansford.

More information about Chinese tea ceremonies can be found here.

[Victoria Counts].

Object: Stone Vase

AS-04-23-061
China
Ch’ing Dynasty, 1662-1722
Materials: Agate or Jade

This beautifully carved stone vase is a somewhat large example of the art of carving jade flowers in China. It is made of a single stone varying in color from pink to amber, and the duality of the colors was captured as a light flower surrounded by darker vines. The stone was polished and shines in the light. The exact material is unknown but could also have been agate, which is a similar hard stone also used to carve decorations.

Jade has widely been a popular stone to work with in China for many hundreds of years. It was believed to be the stone from heaven because it came from high in the mountains. The typical image of jade is the deep green but it can actually come in a variety of colors such as white, blue, red, brown, yellow, grey and black. A single piece of stone may contain a range of colors. Typically a desired piece of jewelry will be one color and have no cracks or flaws, so most stones are difficult to use for this purpose. A master carver however, can use the flaws to shape a floral design by getting rid of cracks as part of the design and, even more impressive, use the color variations to enhance the life-like qualities of their design. This type of jade carving has long been popular in China and saw great advancements during the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644.

For more information, read The Collector’s Book of Jade by Arthur and Grace Chu and Jade-Essence of Hills and Streams by S. Howard Hansford [Victoria Counts].

Object: Mosaic

C/50-1/1/1
Mosaic
Seleucia Pieria, Turkey
2nd century AD
Materials: Stone and concrete

This mosaic is from the House of Cilicia at Selucia Pieria, the harbor of ancient Antioch. Much of the city was excavated by a team of archaeologists from Princeton University in the late 1930’s. Their findings (including further information on this mosaic) were published by Doro Levi in Antioch Mosaic Pavements (Princeton, 1947).

This mosaic floor depicts a personification of the Roman territory of Kilikia or Cilicia. Prior to its excavation and removal, the floor contained other personifications as well. The largely obscured figure to the left of Kilikia was likely a representation of Mesopotamia. Additionally there would have been representations of four river gods just beyond the corners of our portion of the mosaic. These representations included personifications of the Tigris, and Pyramos rivers, the other two river gods have been lost to time but were most likely the Euphrates, Kydnos rivers . The two surviving corner pieces can now be found at the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Smith College Museum of Art.

This mosaic was part of a triclinium or dining room. This can be determined examining the way in which the entire mosaic was originally laid out. Traditionally in a triclinium there are three couches arranged in a U-shape along three walls of the room. This produced an open area in the center of the room where the food could be served to all of the guests. In houses with mosaic floors the area underneath the couches would be decorated with relatively simple designs. The central area of the triclinium would contain the most elaborate portion of the mosaic as it would be the part of the floor visible to all the guests during a banquet. The section of mosaic held at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History was the central area of the triclinium as can be seen in the excavation photograph. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]