04 · HISTORICAL OBJECT · 1816–1826

Water in a shell

A San ostrich-eggshell vessel

Light, durable and repairable: a water container made for mobility.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of A San ostrich-egg vessel, South Africa, 1816–1826 — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

A decorated ostrich-eggshell was transformed into a vessel for transporting or storing water.

The historical piece has a San attribution. Archaeologically similar vessels document technology, but do not suffice to identify a millennia-long ethnic continuity.

The British Museum record places the collection of the piece between 1816 and 1826 and identifies it as a San water vessel from South Africa. The shell offers volume with very little weight.

The incised decoration belongs to this specific historical object. Similar archaeological fragments may document technology, but do not automatically transfer their ethnic name to the remote past.

Evidence and interpretation

Material, collection chronology, attribution and inventory are documented; the relation to archaeological objects is comparative. Documented expansion: Material, collection chronology, attribution and inventory are documented. Expanded interpretation and caution: The relation to archaeological objects is comparative.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 1816–1826
Location: South Africa
Material: Ostrich eggshell
Context: Historically identified vessel
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Inventory: British Museum Af1910,-.363
Collection: 1816–1826
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

1816–1826

Water in a shell

San histories

Date of the catalogued historical vessel, not of the origin of the practice.

Current record

Eggshell1 dated object

You are viewing
1816–1826
Water in a shell
San histories
Date of the catalogued historical vessel, not of the origin of the practice.
Current record

1 / 1In the centre: Water in a shell

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Vessels

Before Sumer · mid-6th–5th millennium BCE · Sumer
Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or · Early Neolithic · VI–V millennia BCE · Prehistory
Before Egypt · ca. 4400–3800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Before Nubia · V–IV millennium BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Gojoseon · Middle Neolithic, c. 4000 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Bevel-rimmed bowl · ca. 3500–3000 BCE · Sumer
Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · Sumer
Before Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi Japan
Vasiliki · ca. 2500–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before the Greeks · c. 2400–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before Ancient China · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Longshan · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Pithos · c. 1450–1375 BCE · Greek worlds
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Grey bowl from Hastinapura · c. 1100–800 BCE in the classical sequence of Hastinapura · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Scorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · Thracians
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
Orpheus among the Thracians · circa 440 BCE; attributed to the London Painter E 497. · Thracians
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Rogozen · mainly 5th–4th centuries BCE; The set has a history of accumulation, not a single manufacturing date. · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Vase from Chão de Lamas · Piece: III–II centuries BCE · concealment ≈110–76 BCE · Iberians
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Urewe vessel · regional range c. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Water in a shell · 1816–1826 · San histories — You are viewing

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
A tradition that invents · collected in 1993 or 1995 · Batwa / Twa histories
A vase travels; the rite changes · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Early pottery · before ca. 9400 cal BCE · Mande Worlds
Liédena Flask · Roman period · individual chronology not published in the entry · Etruscans and Rome
Made in Garama · I millennium BCE–I millennium CE · Garamantes
Oil in a calabash · ca. 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
The unfinished gesture · 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes
Urns from Adichanallur · Iron Age · samples towards 665 and 467 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Vessels without a language · Urewe, broad regional range ca. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds

Water management

Torreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Water in a shell · 1816–1826 · San histories — You are viewing

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Canal and field · IV–III millennium BCE · Sumer
Four gardens and water · 6th century BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Lothal · ca. 2400–1600 BCE · Indus civilisation

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Incisions that became visible

The Af1910,-.363 vessel bears incised geometric designs highlighted with a black substance identified in the catalogue as ash or charcoal. The description measures a height of fifteen centimetres and records a fine crack beside the opening. The curatorial comment further notes a plug made of putty, a detail comparable to other old examples from the Griquatown area. Thus, recognising the egg alone is not enough: opening, addition and decoration show different operations that transformed a shell into a manageable and recognisable utensil.

Museum · British Museum · Water vessel Af1910,-.363Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Where it is held

The British Museum

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

Did you enjoy this exhibit?

Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.

Loading your rating…