Object Listing

A postal stone with inscriptions in two languages. On the one side is an English inscription. On the reverse side a Dutch inscription. The stone is inscribed with the names of the ships Nassau, Frederik Hendrik, Nimmegen, Wesel and Galias. These ships departed from Batavia for the Netherlands on 6 January 1632 under the command of Dirk van der Lee. They visited the Cape from 3 to 20 April before continuing their voyage to the Netherlands. The postal stone gives the dates as being 9 to 15 April. The latter refers to the planned date of departure, whilst 9 April is probably an error. On the reverse side is an English inscription referring to the ship London (1631).

Inscribed postal stone. On the one side is a Dutch inscription, on the other a French inscription. The Dutch inscription refers to the ships Banda, Wassenaer and Egmont that left Texel in the Netherlands on 7 December 1633 bound for Asia. The ships visited the Cape from 7 until 11 April 1684.

A tall inscribed stone slab which was erected to indicate the border of the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope. Erected in 1778 at Plettenberg Bay. The beacon was transported all the way from Cape Town on the wagon of the burgher Jacob Joubert. It bears the monogram of the VOC and the date 1778, as well as the coat of arms of Governor Van Plettenberg.

Framed watercolour painting depicting the Wernich family in an interior setting. Joachim Lodewyk Wernich (1730-1777), his wife Anna van Reenen, and their daughter Magdalena Elisabeth (1754) appear in the painting.

Round shaped object with ingraved border around edge, with 2 punch holes on top. Obv. Ingraved numbers '219'.  Dammaged to front in back. Rev. Shows accession number. Also damage on this side with colour faded. Numbered disc, presumably of the kind that had to be worn by enslaved men and free blacks who carried and transported goods around town. In 1809 an order issued to prevent theft, required that thjose who carried goods could do so without notifying the Fiscal and without wearing a numbered ticket around the neck. 

Numbered disc, presumably of the kind that had to be worn by enslaved men and free blacks who carried and transported goods around town. In 1809 an order issued to prevent theft, required that those who carried goods could do so without notifying the Fiscal and without wearing a numbered ticket around the neck. Possibly an alloy of brass. The object shows evidence of various shades/hues of brown rust on both front and back sides. The surface is uneven. Many factors can be considered - its age and use during its time as a functional object. As seen from the images taken from the disc below, shows various layers that were affected and the loss of material (corrosion/ deterioration).

Airtight containers with enclosed dry silica gel should be used to protect metal items from high humidity levels during transport. 

(Example of an alloy is Brass that is a mixture of copper and zinc.)

Two brass engraved scale and register plates (for summer and winter) from a portable mercury barometer which belonged to Robert Jacob Gordon. Gordon was the Captain of the Dutch garrison at the Cape of Good Hope. He was also an outstanding scientific figure at the Cape in the late 18th century and the author of an important treatise on Cape meteorology.

Postal stone with Portuguese inscription.

Silver cup with rounded base. Called a tumbler cup, deriving its name from the weighted rounded base. Beaten up from thick gauge silver, the weight of metal in the footless base causes the cup to return to an upright position when knocked over. Seldom decorated except when part of a travelling set or when used by a soldier in the field. This cup belonged to Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon and is engraved with his name R.J. Gordon.

The skeleton is a late adolescent male, more or less adult in postcranial size but with some epiphyses still open. Extant ribs include: Left 1st, five left rib heads; 7 right ribs, mostly just heads; one mid-sternal right rib is almost complete. Only the ribs are going to be exported

Saldanha WC 15-10-07; Also labeled as WC /15/0010/07: Saldanha CAS: 288/08/2007
The partial remains of a small adult female, well preserved but incomplete, as investigated by person from Forensic Services and sent to Prof Morris. Some non-human bone also intermingled. Under investigation regarding how these remains may relate to the Diaz Street burials that were archaeologically investigated by Orton and Dewar.  
SAMPLE: all four tiny rib bits, ranging from 40 to 55 mm in length. 

 sampling and destructive analysis of 1-2 grams of human bone specimens

temporary export of 65 pieces of ochre

engraved ochre

bone points

bone awls 

bone awls

Small slab of rock (200x200mm) with an engraving of an ostrich facing the left on the center of the stone.

Watercolour painting of antelope, felines and anthropomorphic and human figures.

 lower right human molar

temporary export of two incisors

temporary export of one incisor, one molar

Distorted skull with lower jaw, possibly a Therocephalian

Frontlet with horns of Hippotragus leucophaeus; estimated age: ~200years

temporary export of three palaeontological specimens of Massospondylus

temporary export of three palaeontological specimens of Massospondylus

 temporary export of 12 Pelorovis antiquus tooth fragments