Hudson Road Facility | UNI Museum @ Rod Library

Displaying 1 - 18 of 18

	Catalog #	Name	Description
1	1972.30.7	Fan	Circular hand fan. Tan with wooden handles. Brass hook to keep the fan open. Color: TN
2	1973.43.166	Feather Adornment	The adornment has ten slender red curled feathers. The feathers are held together by cloth and wire at the bottom. Most likely used as an ornament in hats or as hair pieces.
3	1989.43.0613	Opener, Letter	Copper, registerd at "Patent Attorney" and also says "for lawyers only, sent free on request."
4	1989.43.0623	Pen	A little rough. Color: GD
5	1989.43.0649	Chain, watch	The Freemason's Masonic fob or watch fob chain. The fob chain is gold with a Masonic piece. A gold and blue Masonic compass is on the pendant. Some metal engraving on the chain.
6	1989.43.0673	Button	With the head of a man on it; says "IWLA". A-D
7	1989.43.0693	Necklace	Very long; may have been made into two strands. Color: WH
8	1989.43.0704	Hairpin	Black spirals. Color: BK
9	1989.43.595	Ring	Napkin ring with indentations.
10	1989.43.621	Pen	Metal grip. Color: BK,GD
11	1989.43.677	Button	Wooden buttons. a and b. Color: GR
12	1989.43.682	Button	Back of a button.
13	1989.43.706	Weight	Metal hook; oval glass watch weight. Color: CL
14	2000.2.32	Shield	This is a large wooden war shield carved by the Asmat people in Papua New Guinea in the second half of the twentieth century. It is composed of lightweight brown sago wood, which has been treated and painted with various pigments of red, white, and black. The base color for the surface is white, while accents and designs have been painted in red and black. The top of the piece is pointed, with an ornamental triangular cap. The bottom of the piece shows degradation of colors and wear from being planted into muddy soil during use. The surface features beautiful geometric shapes and patterns which denote ancestry figures and magic wards. The rear surface of the piece features remnants of red and white pigments around a small handle. The piece is a perfect example of the exquisite level of craftsmanship found in Asmat cultural art. War in Asmat society was very common and ritualistic in nature. Hostile tribes would meet one another to perform headhunting raids and other forms of combat in order to resolve disputes and to balance spiritual scales disturbed by unnatural deaths in their communities. Warfare was a means of enacting vengeance for the deceased and as a means of appeasing angry ancestral spirits. Shields produced for war were highly important as both practical and ceremonial tools. In combat, they were used to protect the wielder and to frighten enemies. The designs carved on the surface represented the wielders’ ancestors and magic wards in ways that gave them protection and power. Ceremonial shields were produced for events such as building dedication ceremonies and funeral rites. Asmat wielders would thump the shields into the ground as part of these rituals, resulting in the degradation of paint layers on many shields in museum collections. Each shield was carved by its wielder, giving them an incredible personal significance. They are pieces intended to tell stories of their ancestors and to demonstrate their dedication to honoring ancestral spirits. The design and shape of shields vary widely by region, and no two are exactly the same. Colors: Red, White, Black, Brown
15	2000.2.35	Carving	Standing human figure, attached by feet and hands to a large lizard/ crocodile figure. Bird figure attached to lizard/ crocodile tail. Figures pigmented black. Carved designs on all figures are red. Color: BK,RD,BR
16	2000.2.67	Carving	This is a large Asmat bis pole topper made from sago wood. It features the images of five human figures intertwined with stylized imagery of hornbill beaks, symbolising the importance of the animal in Asmat ancestral worship practices. The piece is painted entirely in a white and red mixture of paints, with white mbi used on the bodies of the figures and red wasah used in the inset accent portions. The bottom of the piece is curved where it would originally have attached to a much larger pole. The top of the piece is formed by a single human figure whose body is the beak of a hornbill. The base is comprised of two human figures looking across from one another, while the middle is comprised of two figures oriented in the same direction. There are a total of 17 hornbill beaks found in the piece. The white paint found on the piece is called mbi, and is created by crushing and cremating mussel shells found on riverbeds. The red pigment is called wasah and is made from mixing different colors of clay found in upstream villages. Color in Asmat society is said to have magical properties, and different combinations of color are associated with such ideas as strength, fertility, and mysticism. Bis poles are used throughout much of Asmat culture and play a vital role in ancestral worship and funerary practices. When a member of the community dies, the other members erect statues depicting the deceased and their ancestors outside the home. These carvings are traditionally done by family members and are believed to embody the spirits of the deceased’s ancestors, who protect the spirit of the deceased until their death has been avenged. Because death in Asmat society is considered to always be unnatural, headhunting raids were widely carried out prior to the late twentieth century in order to restore balance to grieving communities. Once balance had been restored, the carvings, including bis poles, would be discarded in swamps and rainforests so that the spirits could rejuvenate the sago trees which give Asmat communities life. Pieces such as this would have been placed at the top of the bis pole pointed outwards, but are not always carved as a part of the larger pole. Colors: Brown, White, Red
17	2000.2.96	Bow, arrows	a-h. a) plain wooden bow strung with bark fiber string. b-h) seven arrows of various lengths. Arrows f and d each have e e/r" of shallow barb edges carved into tip. Tip of c either dull or broken. Arrows have 1/2" - 1" sections of wound string at various distances on each. Color: BR
18	2006.7.1	Ticket	1958 "Silver Bells" Formal Ticket for UNI Student