ENGLAND: THE OTHER WITHIN

Object biographies for some English objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum

Triple-sprung mouse-trap from Market Square, Wantage, Oxfordshire; donated by F. Williams. 1911.63.1

All objects in the museum have a life (or series of different lives). They are made, used and then come into the museum. We asked members of the Other Within project team and other members of the museum staff, students (and ex-students) in the department and other interested parties to write articles about an English object that interested them. Each biography includes interesting stories and facts that may surprise you.

Dandy-horse plate
A ceramic plate which shows two people riding a dandy-horse.

Witches' ladder
A "Witches' ladder made with cock's feathers..."

Tylor's bewitched onion
An onion, collected by Edward Burnett Tylor, used in sympathetic magic.

Divining rods
Divining rods are used to find water.

Endowing purse
A fascinating reconstruction of the history of a 17th century endowing purse.

Pocket compass and sundial
Brass-mounted compass with sun-dial in case for the pocket

Ethiopia in England
Exploring an Africa-in-England photo.

Glass Rolling Pin
A 19th century sailor's protection from drowning.

Baker rifle
A rifle used by the British Army throughout the Napoleonic Wars

Whit horn
Whit Monday celebration and musical instrument

Slug on a thorn
Charm for Warts, as the slug dies the warts will go.

Kennedy's mandolin
Mandolin played in the Trenches in the First World War

Morris dancer's costume
A look through the costume, provenance and social context.

Morris dancers' bells
Examining the bells and pads in the Pitt Rivers Collection

A Loop of Rowan Tree
A Loop of Rowan Tree: amulets against witchcraft

A British Cavalry Sabre
The 1796 pattern light cavalry sabre

Lace maker's bobbins
A discussion of lace maker's bobbins

Lace
A look at two different types of lace, Beds Maltese and 'Yak lace'

Water pipe
Water pipe made out of a coke bottle, bought in Oxford.

Whittle and dub
Musical instruments played by one musician to accompany morris dancing

Watchcocks
Part of the "Verge watch"

Token
18th century token from Norwich, minted in 1792 by John Harvey

Lucky Stone
A lucky stone from Newbiggin in Northumberland which hung in a fisherman's cottage.

Dorset hag stone
Another amulet stone, this time from Dorset.

Votive rags
Rags tied to a tree near St Helen's Well, near Thorp Arch, West Yorkshire.

An English 'Blackfoot' shirt
Newton Turvey and his collection of 'North American' artefacts. [A replacement version of this page which is experiencing problems can be found here.

Ceremonial trowel and tankard
The presentation trowel and tankard from the topping-out ceremony for the Pitt Rivers Museum's extension.

One of Ettlinger's photograph catalogue cards
Was Ettlinger interested in primitivism and survivals?

Henry Balfour and the Upper Gallery: a photograph
A photograph which is often used by the Museum to illustrate its history?

Stoolbat
A bat used in a ball called stoolball, collected by Tylor.

World's smallest doll?
Find out more about a very small doll in an egg.

Mousetrap
A triple mousetrap from Wantage found under the floorboards of a demolished house

Casts of bellmarks
The collections of Frederick Sharpe and G.P. Elphick are briefly described.

Knuckleduster
A set of fighting rings made from half-pennies from Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Phleme
A veterinary phleme for bloodletting.

Miner's lamps
Information about the development of miner's lamps in England.