NigeriaLeather thumbring from Nigeria, Africa. Collector not known. Purchased by the Museum from the Resident of Bornu Province, Nigeria in 1932.

This archer's thumbring from is made out of coiled strips of plaited leather. It is likely to have belonged to the southern Bura people of the Biu Division of Bornu in northern Nigeria.

It was used by archers using the 'Mongolian' technique. This is where the string is drawn, not with the main fingers, but hooked behind the right thumb. A ring prevents the string cutting through the thin skin on the thumb.

Infantry archers formed the second division of the army of the Shehu (Sheik) of Bornu, after spearmen. Their bows were 120-150cm long, and had a range of 80 metres. Quilted cloth armour was worn to protect against arrows, although flaming arrows were used to counter this in turn. Archers of the Bornu Empire would often poison their arrows with a mixture of vegetable poisons and putrefying animal products. For Muslims, the preparation of such poisons was forbidden, but the archers would often get around this proscription by employing a specialist poison-maker