Broom

Production date
Unknown
Country
Solomon Islands
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Object detail

Description
Broom: bundle of dried grass tied together at the top with plant fibre.
Classification
INDIGENOUS CULTURES Melanesian & South Sea Islander
DOMESTIC EQUIPMENT Cleaning broom
Maker
Production date
Unknown
Production place
Measurements
L550 x W40 mm
Media/Materials description
Plant fibres
Signature/Marks
BROOM
History and use
This object is from the Helen Barrett collection, which was donated to Queensland Museum in 2014. Miss Helen Barrett worked as a nurse with the Australian Board of Mission in Solomon Islands from 1947 until 1984. Barrett was based at Tasia in Isabel Province, and Maravovo on Guadalcanal before being stationed at the Hospital of the Epiphany at Fauabu, Malaita from 1968 until 1984. In the 1990s, Barrett worked with the Mothers Union in the Torres Strait Islands. Her collection largely comprises of objects that were presented as gifts over the course of her missionary work in Melanesia.

Such brooms are common domestic items throughout the Pacific but are rarely retained by collectors.
Registration number
E40710

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