sculpture
- Museum number
- 2011,2026.2
- Description
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A sculpture made out of recyled firearms in the form of two figures: a nurse brandishing a syringe and holding a reluctant child by the shoulder.
- Production date
- 2011
- Dimensions
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Height: 86.50 centimetres
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Width: 55 centimetres
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Depth: 32 centimetres
- Curator's comments
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This chair is one of the objects made, as part of the "Swords into Ploughshares" project, from discarded weapons collected after the civil war in Mozambique.
cjs 04.02.02
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The throne is a product of the TAE project - Transformaçaõ de Armas em Enxadas (Transforming Arms into Tools) - whereby weapons previously used by combatants on both sides are voluntarily exchanged for agricultural, domestic and construction tools. The project was established in 1995 in Maputo by Bishop Dinis Sengulane of the Christian Council of Mozambique with the support of Christian Aid.
The components of the throne to some extent reflect the international arms trade, though guns from all over the world, including the Western powers, are collected by the TAE team. The principal feature is the Russian AK47 rifle but there are also sections from Eastern European, Portuguese and North Korean guns. The throne has an added significance in Africa where carved stools and chairs are symbols of power and prestige. Examples from Ghana, the Congo and Zanzibar, for example, may be seen in the African collections of the British Museum.
N. MacGregor, 'The British Museum', ICOM News, no. 1 (2004)
C. Spring, 'Tree of Life', British Museum Magazine-1, no. 51 (Spring 2005)
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Good, though will need some attention to the welding of the joints and one section of leg, damaged in transit, will need to be re-attached. A base of wood has also been requested because the 'feet' of the sculpture are not sufficiently strong to take the wieght of the piece
- Acquisition date
- 2011
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- 2011,2026.2