ornament, neck

Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 1948.34, 30059

Drilled coconut shell discs have been strung with interspersed sharks' teeth and a few trade beads to produce a necklace that was probably intended for sale to visitors as a tourist art piece, being most uncomfortable to actually wear. However, the prominence of sharks' teeth in this composition reflects an ancient preference for their use in ornament and weapons among the people of the Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

Micronesian

coconut shell/shell (plant material)/plant material

shark/fish/tooth/bone

glass/inorganic material

length 89 cm

890mm

Ornament, Neck

Body Adornment

Ornament

Personal Artefacts

31 Jul 2026