Tattoo Pattern
| Object Number: | P207 |
|---|---|
| Current Location: | Collections Storage |
| Culture: | Kayan |
| Provenience: | Borneo Sarawak |
| Date Made: | ca. 1897 |
| Early Date: | 1887 |
| Late Date: | 1897 |
| Section: | Oceanian |
| Materials: | Wood |
| Length: | 7.5 cm |
| Width: | 5 cm |
| Thickness: | 1 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. A version of a pattern identified in Hose and Shelford as a Kayan tattoo design from the Rejang River known as "dog without a tail," a pattern "for the front and sides of thigh of women of high rank." The head and the sinuous body are similar to those in pattern CG180790-8161, with the same resemblance to a dog motif in beadwork illustrated by Ernest E. Haddon. A single design, for a man's forearm or thigh. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum.
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:
| [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 IX, Fig. 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 139 | View Objects related to this Type Citation |
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