Te mwae te nikabono

human history

Te mwae te nikabono. Conus shell Neck ornament. The central pendant of this Neck ornament is made from nouo (conus shell) which has been cut from the base of the nouo and shaped into a round disk. The surface of the outward facing side of the nouo is convex, smooth and features a natural dark speckling in the surface spiralling out from the centre. The natural spiralled ridges of the shell show on the underside. This ornamental form of the nouo shell is termed te nikabono. There is a perforation in the disc through which te kora (coconut sennit) is threaded through to suspend the nikabono as a neck ornament. discs of te nana (coconut shell) are cut and ground into a uniformly round shape and strung onto the kora. The pieces of te nana are approximately 9mm in diameter. The pendant of te nikabono (conus shell) is approximately 57mm in diameter. The nouo is off-white in colour with slight darker speckling on the outer surface. The discs of te nana are dark brown in colour.

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

Neck ornament of conus shell (English)

Accession Number

1936.295

Accession Date

1936

Other Id

22922 (ethnology)

217 (Maude Collection)

Department

Pacific

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Te mwae te nikabono; 1936.295; 22922, 217; Cultural Permissions Apply Cultural Permissions Apply
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