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Thread spool

Very fine thread derived from coconut or bast fibres was an integral part of making shell necklaces and dress mats (jaki-ed). Thread was used to sew the richly-decorated border pieces onto the central sections of the mat. Wound over a board like this one, the thread could be stored as a usable material.

Data Provider
Städtische Museen Freiburg
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Cataloguing data

Object type
Thread
Dimensions
Höhe: 10.0 mm, Breite: 40.0 mm, Länge: 280.0 mm
Material/Technique
Coconut fibre
Current location
Museum Natur und Mensch
Inventory number
II/1368

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. 74b (Object list Antonie Brandeis, 1st consignment April 1900, SAF D.Sm 35/1): "Faden um d. Streifen anzähen. Ör. Bast". Additional comment: "The edge of the mats is woven with black-coloured raffia No. 73. The brown raffia No. 72, which is painstakingly obtained from a weed, is knitted into it with a needle. No. 74b shows the thread for sewing on the outer narrow edge. The same is twisted from tree bast. No. 74a shows a strip of raffia that has already been started." and "Making shell necklaces: The ingenious spindle No. 75 is used to drill holes in the large or small shells (sic!). The individual shells are then pulled onto raffia thread 74b or interwoven with fine strips of pandanus." (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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