Traverse Board

Label

A painted, fading pattern radiates from the center of this traverse board, an object used on ships to calculate distance traveled by moving pegs from one hole to another. While even the most utilitarian objects are often decorated, this object was not preserved for its ornamentation.

British sailors took this as a prize when capturing the Brazilian slave ship, Flor de Maria, in June 1850. Of the 270 enslaved people on board, thirty percent were children. Unwillingly taken from their homes and families, these captive Africans would have been forced to labor on coffee plantations after crossing the Atlantic and arriving in Brazil. Disembarking in Freetown, Sierra Leone, these individuals remained in Africa, but were likely far from their families and unaware of local languages and customs.

From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art

Course History

First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023

Exhibition History

Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-June 16, 2024.

Provenance

Acquired by the Museum and Art Gallery Reading, England, date unknown; sold to present collection, 1939.

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