Picture Details
Coconut coir rope
Partner:
Kew GardensImage reference:
EBC38683Origin:
Calcutta, West Bengal, IndiaDonor / Date:
India Museum, c.1879Size:
W 680 mmDescription:
Click here for more details
This strong rope has been made from the coir, the fibre from the outer husk of the coconut fruit. Traditionally the husk is soaked in water before the fibres are pulled apart and twisted into yarn. The India Museum in London was formed by the East India Company in 1801 to display artefacts, natural history specimens and illustrations from the Indian subcontinent. The Museum was closed in 1879 and its collections dispersed among the London Museums and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. By this time its collections had extended beyond South Asia to as far east as China.
