M0005558: Photograph of a fire piston and a "pusa" used for making fire

Previous title, replaced November 2021: Illustration of Fire Piston used for making fire

Reproduction of a photograph of fire making items: a fire piston (left) and a pusa (right), used for making fire at the naming of a Kayan child. The figure represents Laki Pesong whose special function is to care for the welfare of children. Published in Hose, Charles: The pagan tribes of Borneo, volume II, London, 1912. A print of the photograph was acquired by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum and accessioned in 1938 (accession number PHO 10840).

8 August 1938

1 photograph glass plate negative; 12 x 16.5 cm

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2021.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.