Royal Commonwealth Society : Navigational chart: Mattang chart or instructional form (former ref: 1927-27)

Royal Commonwealth Society

<p style='text-align: justify;'> One of a collection of four traditional 'stick charts' produced in the Marshall Islands archipelago, possibly in or around Jaluit Atoll; the date and makers are unknown. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> An instructional chart, characterised by symmetrical construction. According to Lyons' 1928 description, this chart includes at least five island positions. The cane in this instance appears to be tied with cotton thread rather than palm fibre. The exhibition history of this object is unknown.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Bibliography: Col. Sir Henry Lyons, F.R.S, 'The sailing charts of the Marshall Islanders: a paper read at the afternoon meeting of the Society, 14 May 1928' [and the Discussion that followed], Geographical Journal, 72/4 (Oct. 1928), 325–328. Robert Batchelor, 'Extrastate Development: Marshallese Stick Charts and the Politics of Infrastructure in the Nineteenth-Century Pacific', forthcoming (2025) chapter in De Gruyter's Yearbook on Environment, Technology and Development.</p>