WCP6077

Letter (WCP6077.7027)

[1]1

From the CURATOR, PITT RIVERS MUSEUM

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

8 Oct[ober]. 1949.

Dear Mr. Wallace,

Many thanks for the lime box, used to hold lime which goes with betel for chewing2. We are glad to have it because of the collector.

Soap-stone3 was used a lot in China by those who couldn[o]’t afford jade4. We have a pink carving of Shou-Lao, god of longevity, of the Kang Hsi period5, published by myself & D[octo]r. Cohn6.

I know of no book, but suggest that you write to D[octo]r. William Cohn, Keeper of the Museum of Eastern Art, Indian Institute, Broad Street, Oxford. If there is literature, he will know.

[2]

With kind regards, | Yours sincerely, | T. K. Penniman [signature] 7

1

The page is numbered [WP16/2/54] in pencil in the top RH corner.

2.

2
The leaf of the vine Piper betle is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties. Betel leaf is consumed in the south east Asian community predominantly as a betel quid, which contains betel leaf, areca nut and slaked lime, and may contain tobacco.
3
Also known as steatite or soaprock, is a type of metamorphic rock largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It has been a medium for carving for thousands of years.
4
The term is applied to two different metamorphic rocks, nephrite and jadeite, which are composed of different silicate minerals. Jade has had a special significance in the history of the art of the Chinese, comparable with that of gold and diamonds in the West. It was used for the finest objects and cult figures, and for grave furnishings for high-ranking members of the imperial family.
5
Shou Lao, God of Longevity is usually recognizable by his tall, over sized forehead, representing wisdom and long beard representing long life. The Kang Hsi (Kangxi) Emperor (1654-1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty.
6

Cohn, William (1880-1961) German-British art historian and Sinologist. He founded Oriental Art magazine in 1947. The quarterly was associated with Asian Art presently in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (where he was an advisor) and was the first journal to pioneer publishing on research and discoveries in Asian art history.

8.

7
Indecipherable possible initials written in ink below the signature.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP6077.7027)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2018-08-15]

Please cite as “WCP6077,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP6077