The Nature Trail is inaccessible due to pathworks by Lewisham Council. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Humming top, made from two large flat bottomed cone shaped seeds, and a circular "washer". One seed, used as the base of the object has a cylinder stick attached to it extending upwards. On this stick is placed the flat circular washer with a hole through the centre. The second, larger seed, also has a hole drilled through it, allowing it to be placed onto the stick. The second seed has a further hole drilled into the side, when this is spun it makes the "humming" noise.
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk
