containers (general & multipurpose)

Sperm whale tooth with a thick wooden band inserted around the lower edge of the tooth. There are four indents in this band for rectangular pieces of a different type of wood, only one of which remains on the object. There is a small metal hoop attached to the wooden part, and another towards the top of the object. Both of these hoops have lengths of string looped through them. There is a hole in the top centre with wood and metal beneath it. There is a metal catch at the side which looks as though it may open the metal part. This metal is tarnished and so will no longer open.

Collection Information

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The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive.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 or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk