Economic Botany Collection

Catalogue no.:

50420

Botanical classification:

OLEACEAE Olea sp.

Common name:

Olive tree

Geographical description:

Origin unknown, but possibly from a Mediterranean country such as Italy or Spain.

Item description:

Rosary of olive stones and Styrax seeds

Length:

61cm

No. of beads:

53 olive, 6 Styrax

Bead size:

1.2cm long (olive)

Plant information:

The olive originated in eastern Mediterranean region. Naturally large, evergreen shrubs but trained as trees which are often long lived. Grows in Etesian or dry subtropical climates. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants and now commonly grown in Mediterranean region and across the world.

Donor:

Henry Christy (1810-1865) - was born in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey. He trained to be a business man like his father, and became director of the London Join-Stock Bank. He followed an interest in science, particularly ethnology and began collecting artefacts from his travels, which were donated and also added to his personal collection. Christy caught a severe cold on an expedition to Belgium, and a later journey brought on pneumonia of which he died in 1865. His archaeological and ethnological collections were left, along with money to maintain them, to the nation and they are held at the British Museum.