Te mwae

human history

Te mwae. Neck ornament. This is a Neck ornament made up of three material components: te kora (cordage of coconut sennit fibre), te nana (coconut shell) and te nouo (conus shell). A pale brown two-ply cord of coconut sennit fibre has been used as the band to thread circular discs of sea shell and coconut shell. The circular discs are small in circumference, thin in depth and have been drilled or cut from a larger piece. A central perforation has been drilled for threading onto the fibrous band. The pattern is not an equal alternating sequence of one off-white conus shell disc and one coconut shell disc. There are more segments of off-white conus shell discs threaded together and the coconut shell discs appear thin in depth compared to the contrasting conus shell disc. The knotted fastening also shows a loose selvedge on one of the cords.

Accession number: 1936.295 Last Update: 30 Nov 2018
Other Name

Neck ornament

Te mwae

Te mwae Teimoone

Accession Number

1936.295

Accession Date

1936

Other Id

22994.4 (ethnology)

192 (Maude Collection)

Department

Pacific

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Te mwae; 1936.295; 22994.4, 192; Cultural Permissions Apply Cultural Permissions Apply
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