book (documentary artefacts)

Palm leaf book, possibly of Sanskrit verses, with plain wooden covers. It has two apertures, through which a length of cord passes, holding the leaves in place. There is a handwritten inscription on a label adhered to one of the covers, presumably in the hand of Frederick Horniman, reading: 'A Cingalese Book: Written on slips of the / leaf of the Tallipot tree, brought from Ceylon by my friend / Mr. Jas. Miller, & presented by him to me, on the 15 of April 1845. / being about a month after his arrival in England. A friend of Mr. M, / who could read the language, told him it was a collection of / Recipes for the care of the bites of venomous reptiles &c.'.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
886.2
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 473 mm x 59 mm x 25 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
palm leaf; wood; string
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
In storage
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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The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive.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.

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