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ornament, neck

human history
  • Other Name

    chest ornament

    dafe

  • Description

    chest ornament, pearl shell crescent shaped

  • Place
    South Malaita/Malaita/Solomon Islands
  • Accession Number
    1989.75
  • Accession Date
    08 May 1989
  • Other Id

    53229 (ethnology)

  • Department

    Pacific

Images and documents

Artefact

  • Credit Line
    Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 1989.75, 53229
  • Public Access Text

    Made in the late twentieth century, this dafe maintains all the features of old traditional forms. A small frigate bird motif carved in turtle shell is attached to the polished gold lip pearl shell crescent, which is worn suspended around a man’s neck by the cord of shell money discs.

    This cord of shell money was probably made at Auki, a small island off the south-west coast of Malaita, which has long been the centre of currency making by women who cut, drill and polish the red Spondylus shells.

  • Cultural Origin

    Malaita/Solomon Islander

  • Primary Maker

     unknown

  • Place
    South Malaita/Malaita/Solomon Islands
  • Date
    Unknown
  • Media

    spondylus/seashell/shell

    [fibre]

    tortoise shell/animal material

    mother of pearl

  • Measurement Description
    length 590mm
    69 x 185mm height x width x depth/length
  • Measurement Reading

    590mm

    69mm

    185mm

  • Classification

    Ornament, Chest

    Body Adornment

    Ornament

    Personal Artefacts

  • Last Update
    04 Oct 2018
The development of the Auckland War Memorial Museum online collection is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.

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