Te mwae te uba

Te mwae te uba. Neck ornament of pearl shell. This mwae (neck ornament) consists of a large uba (mother of pearl shell) of a golden yellow variety. Its outer surface is mottled and light brown in colour while its underside is white. It has been ground and highly polished into a disc shape with a high glossy sheen although patches of rough outer surface are still visible on the outward facing side. There is a perforation at the top of the hinge through which natural coloured fibre cord is threaded through, This cord has a small light blue moromoro (trade bead) attached to it. The uba is darker toward the lip at one side.