Carved Wooden Leopard
This carved wooden leopard is a work of art from the Kingdom of Benin, in present day Nigeria. Within the beliefs of the Kingdom of Benin, leopards were important animals.
This necklace was made and worn by the Nuer community that Percy met when travelling in South Sudan
This necklace was acquired by Percy Powell-Cotton on the 8th of June, 1933 during his expedition to South Sudan. Percy’s diary entry for that day doesn’t reveal exactly how he came to have this necklace, but he does say that he met a group of Nuer people (the cultural group of the area he was staying in) and that he purchased some shields and bracelets from them. Perhaps he also bought this necklace but forgot to record it in his diary.
The necklace is made up of beads and bone pendants. Bone and ivory are very important materials for Nuer people. Bone is valuable and represents prestige and power. The Nuer use bone a lot in their personal ornaments and Percy collected many pieces, showcasing different styles of decoration and different types of ornament.
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Western Lowland Gorilla Skull (NH.MER35.11)
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