Ear Ornament

18023L

From: Marquesas Islands

Curatorial Section: Oceanian

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Object Number 18023L
Current Location Collections Storage
Provenience Marquesas Islands
Section Oceanian
Materials Bone
Description

Carved bone. Formerly used by chiefs' wives and daughters. The ornament is made in two pieces: a cap, usually made of shell, with a cavity lined with soft wood into which fits a shank extending from one end of the ornament proper. The usual material for the latter is said to have been bone from the skeleton of a relative of the original wearer, the figures representing ancestors. These ornaments were highly valued and were inherited in the female line.

Length 6 cm
Width 2.8 cm
Outside Diameter 2.8 cm
Credit Line Gift of William Pepper, 1891

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