Knockaloe Camp bone vase
Date made: 1914-1918
Description: A short carved beef bone vase, made in Knockaloe Civilian Internment Camp by an unknown internee. A single figure (a naked male figure sat chained to a large rock) is hand carved in bas relief on the front of the vase. The figure appears to represent the Classical (Greek) myth of Prometheus, who is chained to a rock and punished for giving fire to the mortals. A simple geometric pattern is carved around the rim and base of the bone. The bone does not have a wooden base.
Background:
During the First World War (1914-1918) the Isle of Man was used as an internment base for civilian ‘enemy aliens’. They were held in two camps, a requisitioned holiday camp in Douglas and a purpose built camp located at Knockaloe near Peel on the west coast of the Island. These held at their peaks over 4,000 and 23,000 men in some cases for nearly five years between opening in 1914 and final closure in 1919. Over 30,000 men passed through Knockaloe between 1914 and 1917, more than the population of Douglas. Other historic names referring to the camp include Knockaloe P.O.W. Camp, Knockaloe Prisoner of War Camp and Knockaloe Alien Detention Camp. The confinement of the prisoners led to specific behavioural issues known as ‘barbed wire disease’. Receiving its name from the aimless promenading of inmates up and down the barbed-wire boundary, other symptoms included moroseness and avoidance of others. It was decided that providing practical stimulation would help. The Friends’ Emergency Committee (a Quaker organisation) based in Great Britain was invited to the Island from 1915 onwards with the aim of providing books, tools, equipment and materials for the inmates to work and establish workshops.
Measurements: overall: 9 x 7 x 4.5 cm
Materials: mammal bone
Object name: vase
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 2004-0039
Subject tags : #WW1INTERNMENTMUSEUMCOLLECTIONS