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Te mwae

human history
  • Other Name

    Neck ornament (English)

  • Description

    Te mwae. Neck ornament. This is made from three material components: te kora (coconut sennit fibre cord), small glass beads and teeth from a mammal that belongs to the cetacean group. The teeth are shaped like an eclipse with tapered points. They are opaque, hard and pale brown in colour. A small perforation has been drilled into the tapered points of the teeth where kora has been threaded through.

    Twenty teeth have been threaded along the Neck ornament and is divided by series of small light blue, transparent beads. These have been threaded to form double layers between the teeth pendants. The ends expose the kora that has been used to form the neck band. The ends have been fastened into a loose knot to close off the Neck ornament.

  • Place
    Nonouti/Gilbert Islands/Kiribati
  • Accession Number
    1940.3
  • Accession Date
    1940
  • Other Id

    25199 (ethnology)

  • Department

    Pacific

Te mwae; 1940.3; 25199; Cultural Permissions Apply

Images and documents

Images

  • Te mwae; 1940.3; 25199; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te mwae; 1940.3; 25199; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te mwae; 1940.3; 25199; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te mwae; 1940.3; 25199; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te mwae; 1940.3; 25199; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Ornament

Artefact

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