4285 – Bottle Containing Mercury

Physical description:

A plastic bottle, very heavy, containing mercury. The bottle has a white plastic screw cap, and part of a label (the rest torn off) with the words 'Mercury' and 'Laboratory Reagent'.

Museum classification:

New Orleans Tradition / Voodoo

Size:

87 x 37 diam.

Information:

Part of the collection of objects in the Voodoo Priest's Box, MWM id. 4220.

The mercury was probably used for divination.

Resource:

Object

Materials:

Metal (mercury), plastic, paper

Part of the collection of objects in the Voodoo Priest's Box, MWM id. 4220.

The mercury was probably used for divination.

4219 – Beads and Carved Skull

Six faceted black glass beads, one of them broken, and a small skull carved from bone (?) with very fine detail, all strung on fine (and very soft) cord (natural wool or cotton).

A simple handcrafted cross made from a reddish-coloured hardwood. There are various symbols incised shallowly on one side of the cross: groups of dots joined by lines, which could possibly have an astrological significance; and a pennant with vertical lines and a star. There is what appears to be the head of a very small nail driven into the underside of one of the arms of the cross.

4283 – Bottle Containing Powder

A short brown glass bottle containing a pale-coloured powder, and sealed with greyish wax.