Tattoo Pattern
| Object Number: | P234 |
|---|---|
| Current Location: | Collections Storage |
| Culture: | Kayan |
| Provenience: | Borneo Sarawak |
| Date Made: | Before 1897 |
| Section: | Oceanian |
| Materials: | Wood |
| Length: | 4 cm |
| Width: | 4 cm |
| Credit Line: | Gift of Dr. William H. Furness 3rd., 1898 |
Description
Flat piece of wood carved to leave a pattern in high relief. The block is inked and pressed onto the skin as a guide for the tattooing. Double scroll motif used, above a vertical rectangular pattern, on the front of a woman's thigh. This is a four-line version, for a woman of high class. The more lines, the higher the class, so this is for a woman of somewhat lower class than the very similar P233, which has five lines. Similar examples illustrated in Hose and Shelford are from Uma Pliau, on the Baram River.
Current & Past Exhibitions:
| The Dayaks: Peoples of the Borneo Rain Forest (Furness, Hiller, Harrison Borneo Collection) (25 Feb 1989 - 01 Jul 1990) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Bibliography:
| [Book] Nieuwenhuis, A. W. 1904. "Quer Durch Borneo Ergebnisse seiner Reisen". In den Jahren 1894, 1896–97 und 1898–1900. Leiden. Type Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Vol. I, Taf. 82, Fig. g; Taf. 85, Figs. a & b | View Objects related to this Type Citation |
| [Article] Shelford, R., and Hose, Charles. 1906. "Materials for a Study of Tatu in Borneo". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. XXXVI. pg. 1-48 Type Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Plate VIII, Figs. 4 and 5 | View Objects related to this Type Citation |
| [Book] McDougall, William, and Hose, Charles. 1912. The Pagan Tribes of Borneo.. London. Macmillan and Company. Type Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Plate 138, Figs. 4 and 5 | View Objects related to this Type Citation |
You may also be interested in these objects:
Report problems and issues to digitalmedia@pennmuseum.org.