FoodMuseum - Oxford Food & Museum Project

In this room:

Old foodstuff and other foodobjects from the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford

as an appetizer for the coming:

The Oxford Food & Museum Project

Foodwriters’ views on objects from Oxford University Museum Collections

The project:

Oxford houses unique museum collections of objects closely related to gathering, producing, growing, preparing and consuming food. They are testimony to a great variety of foodcultures in the world. A cooperation between the University of Oxford Museum Collections and the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery (OSF) creates excellent opportunities for symposiasts to present work in a new context, as well as providing the museums a gateway into the food world and reaching new audiences.

This project aims to bring together museumobjects and the skills and expertise of foodwriters. It aims to present culinary views on museumobjects in a wonderful mix of knowledges, activating collections through personal stories, poetry, imaging and recipes, in various forms: as a culinary roadmap through collections, apps, analogue and/or virtual exhibitions or through a series of small, beautifully designed books, depending on the annual topic of the symposium.

The collections and displays of the University of Oxford Museums are rooted in time and place and can be read as testimonies to the ages of Englightment, Empire, Romanticism, Positivism and De-colonization, offering interesting perspectives on the OSF-theme Food & Power in 2019.

We start with a pilot with the Pitt Rivers Museum. The Pitt Rivers Museum is the Anthropology and World Archaeology Museum of the University of Oxford, founded in 1884 and visited by over 430.000 visitors per year. The typologically-organised displays function as a ‘democracy of things’, encouraging cross-cultural reflection and celebrating human creativity, global interconnectedness and cultural diversity.

As an appetizer, in this room the FoodMuseum presents an installation of a few objects from the Pitt Rivers collection. A first projectmeeting will be held on Friday 5th July, preceding this years symposium. Pitt Rivers Museum Director, Laura Van Broekhoven and Linda Roodenburg, director of the FoodMuseum and initiator of the project, will introduce the project. Symposiasts and foodwriters who are not able to join us, but interested in contributing to the project, are invited to contact Linda Roodenburg at info@lindaroodenburg.com

Object on the poster:

project nr 07

Museum nr 1900.12.1

Butter churn comprising a lamb skin with wooden funnel for filling it.

France, Haute Pyrenées, 1900

Information Oxford Food & Museum Project

This room is dedicated to the Oxford Food & Museum Project, a cooperation between the University of Oxford Museum Collections (Pitt Rivers Museum), the Oxford Food Symposium and the FoodMuseum.

Oxford houses unique museum collections of objects closely related to gathering, producing, growing, preparing and consuming food. They are testimony to a great variety of foodcultures in the world. The project creates excellent opportunities for foodwriters and researchers to present work in a new context, as well as providing the museums a gateway into the food world and reaching new audiences.

In this room some objects from the Pitt Rivers Museum are exhibited. This museumcollection is the base of two ongoing projects as part of the Oxford Food & Museum Project:

1. The Pitt Rivers Survival Cookbook - A taste of the Museum is our first project. Food writers shed new light on the museum’s rich collection of food and cookery-related objects. Articles, photos and essays are bringing items out from the confines of their cases or drawers. Sturgeon skin or fish bladder; apples or figs; potato or cassava bread; tea whisk or stone mortar.

At this moment you cannot follow the work in progress. We're looking for new possibilities of showing the book on internet (tips are very welcome, ISSUU isn't free any more)

2. Exhibition Edible Treasures Unlocked

In six rooms the FoodMuseum presents food-related objects from the collection of Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. The objects are presented in a new context, with texts from a international group of writers and researchers. Their contributions (and recipes) are also to be found in the Pitt Rivers Survival Cookbook.

The exhibition unlocked on 9 July 2020 as part of the programm of the Oxford Food Symposium, this year as an online symposium due to the circumstances.

You can reach the entrance of the exhibition via the Gallery of this museum.

We invite writers and researchers to join us and to contribute to the project. We're interested in new and additional information, personal stories or other perspectives on specific objects.

Interested? Please contact our projectmanager Liz Wilding at lwilding99@gmail.com or Linda Roodenburg, director of the FoodMuseum at info@lindaroodenburg.com

Object on the poster:

PRM Inv. nr 1900.12.1

Butter churn comprising a lamb skin with wooden funnel for filling it.

France, Haute Pyrenées, 1900

Wooden bowl in the form of a human figure

Fiji, 1884

Project nr: 08

Museum nr: 1884.6.3

The shallow bowl is carved from one piece of wood.

Place details: OCEANIA MELANESIA?. Fiji. Unknown. Local Name: Unknown. Materials: Wood Plant / Pigment / ?. Processes: Carved / Painted / Stained / Perforated / ?. Dimensions: Max L = 390 mm Max W = 217 mm Maker: Unknown Field Collector: Unknown When Collected: By 1874 Other Owners: Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers. This object was listed in the Delivery Catalogue as having been transferred from South Kensington Museum in 1884. It was delivered to Bethnal Green Museum in March 1874. It was probably displayed at Bethnal Green and/ or South Kensington Museum between 1874 - 1884. PRM Source: Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection Acquired: Donated 1884

KEYWORD: Bowl / Figure / Religious Object / Ceremonial Object / Kava Accessory / CLASS: Narcotic / Vessel / Figure / Religion / Ceremonial / ?.

Object description: The shallow bowl is carved from one piece of wood. The figure’s face has been painted or stained black. There are two small circular wooden feet on the underside of the bowl. The bowl has been perforated in two places, in the centre of the chest and on the right foot. The bowl is stained with marks from old labels and the surface scratched in places.

Some food dishes are made to be used by a specific type of person, often of high status. This shallow Fijian dish was made to be used by a priest. It is carved in the form of a human being. It was made some time before 1874.

Written on object - FIJI PRIEST’S BOWL IN HUMAN FORM. P.R. coll......[2157] (491 blue). [FB 06/02/2015]

Wooden casket for kola nuts

Nigeria 1897

Project nr: 39

Museum nr:1900.39.23 .1/1900.39.23 .2

Wooden casket, overlaid with brass. Base in the shape of a cow's or antelope's head. Both of these animals are used for sacrifices to the gods. Boxes like this are for kola nuts: they are owned by chiefs and used for ceremonial presentations to the Oba.

Place details: AFRICA. Nigeria. Benin City. Cultural Group: Edo Local Name: Unknown. Materials: Wood Plant / Brass Metal / ?. Processes: Carved / ?. Dimensions: Max H [.1, .2] = 160 mm Max L [.1, .2] = 285 mm Field Collector: Benin City Punitive Expedition When Collected: February 1897 Other Owners: Mary Henrietta Kingsley PRM Source: Charles G. Kingsley Acquired: Donated September 1900 PRM Image: 65.7.1, 65.7.2, 65.7.; CD3.10 (Nov 2003) DCF 04-06 Digital Ref Photo 20/1/2005

Accession Book Entry - MISS MARY H. KINGSLEY. The following specimens chiefly collected by the late Miss Kingsley in W. Africa, were bequeathed by her to her brother Charles G. Kingsley, to be transferred to the Museum at his death. Mr. Kingsley generously surrendered his life interest in the specimens and presented them at once to the Museum, September 1900: The following bronzes [sic] from Benin city, taken during the punitive expedition under Admiral Rawson, February, 1897... Carved wooden bowl with cover, in form of an animal's head (?a cow), partly overlaid with brass.

Written on object [.1] - BENIN CITY, W. AFRICA Bequeathed by MISS M.H. KINGSLEY, 1900 [L.Ph 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 20/1/2005]

Other information: In the shape of a cow's or antelope's head. Both of these animals are used for sacrifices to the gods. Boxes like this are for kola nuts: they are owned by chiefs and used for ceremonial presentations to the Oba. [LMM 1991 3]

There is a very similar piece in the Portland Art Museum. See figure 84 on page 78 of The Art of Benin, by Paula Ben-Amos (London: Thames and Hudson, 1980). Caption (same page) reads: 'Wooden kola nut box wih brass studs. Chiefs own elaborately carved boxes which they use for presenting gifts of kola nuts to the king at the Greetings Ceremony. This particular box represents an antelope or cow (interpretations differ), both of which are themselves used as offerings to the gods.' [?, undated; JC 11 9 2003]

Human-headed jar

South Sudan, 1934

Project nr 42

Museum nr.1934.8.134

Human-headed pottery jar with narrow opening at back of head, on a piriform body with applied, incised and impressed decoration

Place details: AFRICA. South Sudan. Western Equatoria ?Li Rangu ?Dingba ?Yambio ?Tambura. Cultural Group: Zande Local Name: Unknown. Materials: Pottery / ?. Processes: Handbuilt / Coiled Handbuilt ? / Slipped / Decorated / Modelled / Impressed Incised / ?. Colour: Pinkish brown (Pantone 7515C) mottled with black (Pantone black 7C) [RTS 15/11/2004]. Weight: 1275 g Dimensions: H = 222, W head = 74, W shoulder = 150, L base = 72, W base = 70 mm [RTS 15/11/2004]. Maker: Mbitim Field Collector: Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton & Hannah Powell-Cotton (nee Hannah Brayton Slater) When Collected: 27 to 29 April 1933 Other Owners: Mbitim. Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah Powell-Cotton (nee Hannah Brayton Slater) between 27th and 29th April 1933 during a shooting expedition in Western Equatoria [RTS 17/9/2004]. PRM Source: Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton Acquired: Donated 1934 Other Numbers: 1086 Documentation: See RDF 1934.8 and 1996.53.1 PRM Image: A24.F17.33, A24.F17.34; CD41.28 (2001 - 2002)

Object description: Anthropomorphic jar, handmade from a well levigated clay with small to medium gold-coloured mica inclusions, slipped and burnished on the outside and fired a light pinkish brown colour (Pantone 7515C), mottled with black patches (Pantone black 7C). Some of the patches may be soot adhering to the surface, presumably from the firing process, as they are flaking off in places. Slight horizontal ridging up the lower body suggests that the vessel may have been coil built.

The jar is roughly circular in plan view. The top of the vessel has been modelled in the shape of a female head, with a small oval opening in the back of the head. The back of the head is curved, with two raised sections on the top represented bunched hair; this hair is delineated by rows of impressed marks made with a tool that has a square or angular leading edge. These rows divide the hair into a number of sections, with a parting running down the centre, two angled partings on either side, and a row running around the entire edge of this raised area, then a single curving row running horizontally around the back of the head, just above the ears, and a vertical row down from the middle of this to the top of the neck. The hair itself is represented by a number of finely incised oblique and curving lines, following the shape of the head. The face is indicated using a combination of modelling, incision and impression. Modelled sections include the ears, eyes in the form of raised lentoid shaped areas with incised lines marking their inside edges, a pointed nose with deeply impressed circular nostrils at its base, slightly pouting lips with a horizontal line cutting into them to form the mouth, and a curved chin. Incised lines are used to further define the eyes, and to represent facial scarring, which consists of 3 lines meeting to form a 'crowsfoot' shape near the outside corner of each eye, and 5 vertical lines running down the cheeks from the base of each eye. Impressed marks are used for additional details, including groups of from 2 to 3 short dashes across the brow and cheeks, probably representing further scarring, and rows of impressed square marks defining the upper curve of the brow, running vertically down the forehead, and representing the eyebrows.

The head sits on a short, slightly flaring neck, with a flat raised collar around its base, marked by incised lines above and below. This collar is decorated with a row of impressed squares running along its top and bottom edges, while between them is a repeating motif made up of pairs of vertical lines framing an X-shaped motif, with the upper and lower triangualar sections of this being filled in with incised hatching.

The body of the jar is piriform in shape, with a high rounded shoulder and convex sides curving into a low disc base. Flattened rectangular strips have been applied to the top of the body and as four vertical bands running down at right angles from this towards the base, with a short strip running down to a circular raised disc added to the shoulder area between, making the actual surface of the vessel appear as a series of recessed panels. The upper band has been decorated with a row of impressed circles, a thickband of incised hatching, then a more narrow row of impressed marks, possibly square, although these are rather worn. The vertical ribs are decorated with a vertical band of incised crosshatching, framed by incised lines on all sides, while the roundels are defined by 1 or 2 concentric circles around their outer edge, with a vertical strip down the centre with a row of circular impressions running down it, flanked by vertical lines and a row of impressed squares. The centre of one roundel has been left blank, perhaps inadvertently. The semicircular spaces left on either side of this strip have been filled with incised crosshatching. Each recessed panel around these roundels is decorated with a border made of rows of impressed dots next to rows of impressed squares, running around the edge of the space, with another row around the outside of the roundel. The lower body, below the roundel, is decorated with a motif consisting of a central lozenge with a triangle extending from either side, and a third triangle extending from its base point. The body of these shapes are formed from rows of impressed squares, with a central line running horizontally across the top part of the motif, and vertically down the centre of the lozenge, and the base triangle filled with a mass of impressed marks applied in a crosshatched pattern, very tightly packed. Each corner, and various junction points are also marked by an impressed circle. This motif is repeated, with minor versions, in the lower part of every panel.

The underside of the base is also decorated. This consists of a series of short lines radiating out from the centre, framed by 2 concentric circles, then an outer band made from 4 concentric circles, cut by pairs of short lines framing cross motifs.

The decoration has been added using at least 3 types of tool. One has a sharp point and creates incised lines. The second has a more angular leading edge and creates small square impressions. The third is slightly larger, and circular. Some of the impressions made by this last tool are crescent shaped, rather than complete circles, and others have small raised centres, suggesting that this was probably a hollow cylinder, such as a grass stem, rather than a solid ended tool.

The vessel is heavy, with a weight of approximately 1275 grams, suggesting that it is rather thick walled, and it is questionable whether it was intended to function as a container. It is nearly complete, with a small area of the tip of the nose damaged, and a minor crack and small chip to the edge of the base. It has a height of 222 mm; the top of the head measures 74 mm across; the shoulder has a width of 150 mm and the base is 72 by 70 mm in diameter [RTS 15/11/2004].

Accession Book Entry [p. 248] 1934 [insert] 8 [end insert] - MAJOR P. H. G. POWELL-COTTON, Quex Park, Birchington, E. Kent. Specimens collected by himself & Mrs Cotton, during hunting trips, 1933, viz: [...] [p. 260] - From the ZANDE tribe, LIRANGO, YAMBIO, DINGBA & TAMBURA [p. 262] [insert] 134 [end insert] - Ornamental pottery jar surmounted by a well-modelled human head; very small orifice at back of head. (1086).

Additional Accession Book Entry [p. 261] - 1934.8.134 no. given. NM [red biro] A24.F17.33-34.

Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].

Related Documents File - Typewritten List of "Curios Presented to Dr. Balfour (sic) by Major & Mrs. Powell-Cotton. Zande Tribe". This object appears as item 1083: “POT. with head (perfect)". This entry has been added by hand to the end of this section; other Zande material was collected by Powell-Cotton between 27/4/1933 and 29/4/1933 within the modern administrative district of Western Equatoria. This object also appears on a typewritten list of Zande pottery unpacked at Quex House on 6/10/1933: "B.1086, Pot with head no supports". 'B' stands for 'Balfour', indicating that the vessel had been allocated by then to the PRM [see letter dated 9/10/1996 in RDF 1996.53.1]. Also contains details of a cine film 'some tribes of the Southern Sudan', taken by Powell-Cotton during this 1933 expedition, copies of which are now in the National Film and Television Archive and the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent [RTS 14/3/2005].

Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Pot with very small aperture at top of head. ZANDE, BAHR-EL-GHAZAL, E. SUDAN. d.d. Major Powell-Cotton, 1934 (1986) [paper label stuck to side of object; RTS 17/9/2004].

in Display history: The following caption appeared in the gallery booklets, 2002 - 2010: 13. a. Pottery jar with the top in the form of a head with scarification marks represented. Zande people, Possibly Sudan. Made by 1933. Collected by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and Hannah Powell-Cotton 1933, and donated by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton in 1934. 1934.8.134 [MJD DDF Body Arts Project 2010/2011 30/11/2010]

Research notes: This object was obtained by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah between 27th and 29th April 1933 during a shooting expedition in the Southern Sudan; museum records do not indicate specifically where this was obtained, but they were collecting material from Li Rangu, Dinga, Yambio and the road to Tambura during this period. The most likely location is Li Rangu, where a Zande potter called Mbitim was producing vessels in this style. Powell-Cotton visited Mbitim's workshop on April 28th, collecting raw samples of clay and some of his tools (see 1934.8.132), as well as several examples of his work. This is thought to belong to that group because of its cultural provenance, and its stylistic similarity to vessels elsewhere that are known to have been made by Mbitim at that time, such as those now in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996.301-302) and the British Museum (1934.3-8.27, a water vessel in the form of a female figure, and 1931.4-11.3, another female headed jar; see N. Barley, Smashing Pots, fig. on p. 145 and J.C.H. King (ed.), 2000, Human image). These seem to be identical in style to our example - particularly with decorative details such as the raised strips and roundels, the impressed designs and shape of the facial features. For similar Zande bowls in the Pitt Rivers collection, see 1930.86.42-44, 1931.66.2-3; for anthropomorphic jars, see 1950.12.117-118 (larger than this example, and said to be water vessels); for bookends in the same style, see 1934.8.135 and 1996.53.1. In the 1930's when Powell-Cotton visited it, Li Rangu was a centre of foreign contact for the district (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).

The mica inclusions noted in the clay of this example seem to be a characteristic of Zande pottery; mica occurs naturally in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning 'slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of several of these vessels demonstrates.

Larken discusses Zande customs regarding the collection and working of clay. Clay is usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools are limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing; decoration is applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes two kinds of vessels that are made, one with a low collar around the mouth, and another with a bow-shaped neck (see 1931.66.2-3). The smaller pots are said to be used for cooking meat, the larger ones for water or making bakinde; other pots are for brewing beer, while long-necked varieties are used for washing the face and hands - this last type may have a head adorning the neck. The Pitt Rivers Museum example would seem to be of this last type. Each type has its own Zande name. Decoration often covers the whole surface. Larken goes on to describe the firing and finishing: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).

According to Larken, Zande men and women both practiced cicatrisation, but 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring [RTS 24/8/2005].

In May 2015 a digital photograph of this object was supplied to Ellen Lekka (Culture Specialist / UNESCO Juba – South Sudan) for use in 'South Sudan Traveling Exhibition: Pilot Phase', a project being carried out by UNESCO Juba in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of South Sudan, as part of the establishment of a public culture sector through the development of key institutions and as a step towards the creation of a National Museum. [JC 22 5 2014]

In an email to Alison Petch dated 1 September 2014, Inbal Livne (Powell Cotton Museum, Kent) writes: 'You have it down as possibly made by Mbitim. We have an identical one (on display) so I would confirm that he was definitely the artist. Additionally, Powell-Cotton and his wife wrote an article in MAN in 1933 about Mbitim and his work, which might be of interest? Our version of this piece is one of a set, where the potter created a series of models in all the different stages of production, so from a lump of clay to a full formed pot. There is also footage here (also on display) filmed in 1933 of Mbitim making one of these, although which one who knows! Interestingly he used the money he made from these pieces to fund the local malaria hospital. We’ve got a whole exhibit about him as PC collected a lot of pieces from him.' [AP 1 9 2014; JC 14 9 2014]

Other information: Powell-Cotton usually wrote his own collection numbers on his objects in pencil; his number has not yet been located on this particular object.

Wrapper for biscuits (arvil bread) distributed as part of funeral ceremony of Mrs. Oliver

England, Yorkshire 1828

Project nr 12

Museum nr.1919.53.1

BISCUITS for the FUNERAL of MRS OLIVER, Died November 7th 1828. Aged 52. Text printed on the paper:

Thee we adore, eternal Name,

And humbly own to thee,

How feeble is our mortal frame!

What dying worms we be.

Our waisting lives grow shorter still

As days and months increase;

And every beating pulse we tell,

Leaves but the number less.

The year rolls round and steals away,

The breath that first it gave;

Whate'er we do, where'er we be.

We're travelling to the grave.

PREPARED BY T. ROBINSON, Surgeon, Settle.

Paper wrapper used to contain biscuits distributed as part of a funeral ceremony.

Place details: EUROPE. UK. England Cleveland. Cultural Group: European English Christian Local Name: avril / arvil / arval Materials: Paper Plant / ?. Processes: ?. Dimensions: Of frame: H = 215 mm W = 165 mm D = 3 mm Maker: T. Robinson, Surgeon, Settle ? Field Collector: Unknown When Collected: By 1919 Other Owners: T.G. Barnett probably Thomas George Barnett. Possibly owned by Edwin Sidney Hartland PRM Source: T.G. Barnett probably Thomas George Barnett Acquired: Donated November 1919 Documentation: Photocopy in RDF. PRM Image: CD46.1 (Aug 2006)

Accession Book Entry - November 1919. 'T. G. Barnett, Esq. - Paper wrapper used to contain biscuits given to a mourner at the funeral of Mrs Oliver, 7 Nov., 1828. Cleveland district, Yorkshire. Biscuits of special make were distributed to mourners, wrapped in paper envelopes sealed with black wax, at a recognized stage in the ceremony, together with wine. The biscuits were round & resembled sponge-cake. Female “servers” distributed the biscuits & wine & when the funeral procession was marshalled, walked immediately in front of the coffin. Formerly the “biscuits” were called Avril, arvil or arval bread (Arval = “succession ale” = inheritance feast among the Norsemen).' [NB The funeral was probably not on 7 November, as that was the date of Mrs Oliver's death.]

Additional Accession Book Entry - [on facing page] 'v[ide]. Gentleman’s Magazine, 1802; Rev. Canon Alkinson [sic; Atkinson] "40 years in a Moorland Parish", p227; Hartland “Folklore”, XXVIII, 1917, p.303 [sic; see reference below].

[Geographical] Card Catalogue Entry - exactly as Accession Book

Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - The wrapper was found under glass in a wooden frame, to which the Museum's accession number has already been added in ink. Below appears the following text, handwritten in ink: 'Avril,- arvil- or arval-bread. Wrapper which contained biscuits eaten at a funeral in Yorkshire (Cleveland district) in 1828. The custom of distributing to the mourners at a funeral specially-prepared biscuits in wrappers sealed with black wax, was formerly widely prevalent in Great Britain. It was, probably, related to or derived from the earlier practice of "sin-eating", whereby the sins of the deceased were transferred to a person who, for a fee, consumed food & drink handed to him over the coffin. More remotely, the practice may be an altered survival of ceremonial cannibalism when the flesh of dead kinsmen was eaten by the mourners. Pres. by T. G. Barnett, Esq., 1919. v[ide] Atkinson '40 years in a Moorland Parish', p. 227; Hartland "Folk-Lore", xxviii, 1917, p. 303 [sic; see below for reference].' Printed on the wrapper is the following text: see above

Research notes: At the meeting of the OU Anthropological Society on 1 November 1917 E.S. Hartland read a paper on ''Avril bread'. The speaker took as his text a paper envelope which had contained a funeral biscuit. This and similar envelopes had been distributed at the funeral of Mrs Oliver who had died on November 7th 1828. Mr Hartland brought forward evidence to show that these funeral feasts were probably relics of a very ancient custom in various parts of the world of eating the flesh of the dead kinsman. A discussion followed in which the President, Dr Marett, Miss Freire-Marreco and Mr Dixon took part [AP 22/02/2006]

The reference to Hartland in the Accession Book Entry is to 'Avril-Bread', by E. Sidney Hartland, in Folk-Lore, Vol. XXVIII, no. 3 (September 1917), pp. 305-10. Hartland gives a detailed account of either this actual object, or another example of the self-same wrapper, and of the custom in general. Note, however, that he mistranscribes the second line of the poem printed on the wrapper as 'And humbly bow to thee', when it actually reads 'And humbly own to thee'. Copy in RDF. [JC 9 10 2002] Note that he also implies that the biscuit was in his possession, therefore he may at some point have owned this object before it went to Barnett and then to us [AP 20/8/2007]

See biographies for further information about Barnett [AP 05/12/2006]