Poisoned arrows!

The KwaZulu-Natal Museum holds over a thousand arrows in its collections. Many occur with bows, quivers, and other accessories. Some we know are poisoned – but any of them could potentially have traces of poison, so they all need to be handled really carefully!

Staff of the Department of Human Sciences recently did a major upgrade to the housing of the arrow collection under the oversight of conservator Juanita Petronio. Good housing is a fundamental principle of conservation, and we focussed on designing and making custom boxes that fit into a dedicated storage unit. The boxes make it possible to view the arrows without touching them so we can avoid getting accidentally pricked by a poisoned arrow!

The boxes also protect the arrows: their poison can be sampled and studied, giving us insight into how people lived in the world with plants and animals in the past.

Before the intervention, arrows were stored in overcrowded cupboards. Photo: J. Wintjes

Juanita Petronio documenting the collection. Photo: M. Munzhedzi

Nothando Shabalala laying out the contents of a box. Photo: M. Munzhedzi

Phumulani Madonda and Ghilraen Laue working in the boxing room. Photo: J. Petronio

Dimakatso Tlhoaele in the object studio working on a box. Photo: M. Munzhedzi

Mudzunga Muzhedzi planning the layout of his box. Photo: J. Petronio

The newly made boxes allow each arrow to lie securely in place, with delicate arrowheads and feather fletchings raised so they aren’t touching anything. The arrow designs are diverse, originating in different parts of southern Africa as well as the continent and the world. Photo: J. Petronio (top) J. Wintjes (bottom)

In their new box, a majestic set of quivers with arrows from ‘Upper Senegal’ (Mali/Burkina Faso region) acquired in 1909. The poison on the arrows comes from various plants including the ‘poison nut’ (Jatropha curcas). Photo: J. Wintjes

Please read all about the happenings at the Museum for the month of October.