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Sewing needle

The thatching of roofs and the weaving of sails, baskets or mats was one of the central handcrafts performed by women on the Marshall Islands. There are various types of fine tools, each one with a use matching the requirements of handling each material. On display here is a long needle made from ironwood used to sew pandanus leaves together in roof-making. The end pieces are furnished with a carved barbed hook. Once the woven roof was finished, it would be fixed onto the house.

Data Provider
Städtische Museen Freiburg
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Cataloguing data

Object type
Needle
Dimensions
Länge: 435.0 mm
Material/Technique
Ironwood
Current location
Museum Natur und Mensch
Inventory number
II/1371

Provenance and sources

when
before 1900

when
24.04.1900
who
Brandeis, Eugen - Former Possessors

where
Marshall Islands (location/origin)
Micronesia (location/origin)
Oceania (location/origin)
who
Brandeis, Antonie - Collectors

Provenance
Donated by Eugen Brandeis (Imperial Governor of the Marshall Islands) April 1900, collected by Antonie Brandeis (Jaluit) /Donated by Eugen Brandeis (Imperial Governor of the Marshall Islands) April 1900, collected by Antonie Brandeis (Jaluit) Object no. 76 (Object list Antonie Brandeis, 1st consignment April 1900, SAF D.Sm 35/1): "Nadel um Fächer zu nähen. Ik in kadak. Ironwood". Additional comment: "The Marshall Islanders build their houses as they find material for them on their small islands surrounded by the sea. The wood for the posts consists of trunks of the ironwood tree (kongi) and wood of less resistant species. The roof is covered with pandanus leaves, which are carefully sewn together with wooden hooks No. 76-79." (in: "Bemerkungen zu den dem Museum zu Freiburg /B. übersandten ethnologischen Gegenständen aus den Marshallinseln. South Seas". SAF D.Sm 35/1).

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