51/168

A chaff riddle with a mesh of bamboo splits used to clean grain after it had been threshed.
This chaff riddle, with a mesh of bamboo splits, was used to clean grain after it had been threshed. It would have been shaken so that dust and chaff fell through to the ground. The initials 'W.C.' are engraved on the side of the frame.

1 Chaff riddle:wood, bamboo. fairly good condition-bamboo mesh is split.

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘Riddle Chaff, mesh-split bamboo // DATE ACQUIRED: January 1951 // GROUP: Threshing hand // NEGATIVE: 35/229 // PERIOD: Unknown // PLACE OF ORIGIN: The H.J. Massingham Collection // NUMBER: 51/168M // DESCRIPTION: The chaff riddle was used to clean grain after it had been threshed. The sieve was shaken so that the dust and chaff fell through to the ground. It is a wide round sieve measuring 31.5 inches in diameter, with a mesh of bamboo splits. It has handle 5ft. 5 inches in length which terminates in a fork. The sieve rests on the fork, and is fastened to the handle by a peg, which fits into a slot in the handle, and by pieces of cord. // The initials W.C. are engraved on the side of the frame. // See also 51/444.', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/168 // NAME: CHAFF RIDDLE // NEG NO.: 35/229 // STORAGE: '

Wood, Wood, bamboo