General admission for children 17 years and under is always free

African - Two Poison-tipped Pygmy Arrows, late 19th century - early 20th century

African

Two Poison-tipped Pygmy Arrows, late 19th century - early 20th century

Metal head on wood shaft

Commentary

These diminutive arrows were a Christmas gift to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson, an English army officer turned author and adventurer. Jephson accompanied explorer Henry Morton Stanley on the notorious Emin Pasha Relief Expedition between 1886-1889 and appears to have collected these arrows during his travels in equatorial Africa. While they were originally tipped with poison and used for hunting, Jephson assured Gardner that he had “rubbed the poison off” before presenting the arrows to her.