World Cultures (E4504)

Plain mat-headed comb, no colour, 12 teeth. The teeth/sticks narrow tapering down to a single point. They are held together by weaving fibre strands in a zigzag formation. This weave creates the mat-like handle. Below the tips of the teeth, their places are strengthened by interweaving piece of twine.

World Cultures (E4505)

35 teeth, yellow, black and red mat ornament with 3 broad black bands in the middle

World Cultures (E4506)

29 teeth, yellow, black and red mat ornament with 4 broad black bands in the middle.

World Cultures (E4507)

Incised ornament of a head with 8 long teeth and handle

World Cultures (E4508)

Armlet of palm spathe. Background is dark brown (zigzag woven) with decoration of cream and yellow cross-weave (diagonal zigzag formation created). The yellow and cream do not surround the entire armlet. 2 strands stick out, loose.

World Cultures (E4509)

Crescent shaped ornament with bird head terminals, the whole inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The wood is very light in weight.

World Cultures (E4510)

Circular shell breast plate (tridacua shell). Twisted fibre cord loops through a hole in the middle of the breast plate several times and cord strands have been bunched up and knotted off. The shell itself, on both sides, is covered in a dark yellow substance- perhaps a resin or glue of some kind? Whether it got this whilst in care of the museum or before is unknown.

World Cultures (E4511)

Pectoaral of a tridacna shell. Circular with a central hole and 6 fine strands of fibre threaded through the hole holding the fibre neck strings. With turtleshell overlay and decoration on one side.

World Cultures (E4512)

Thick white shell disc with dark cut out design stylised from a frigate bird in tortoise shell

World Cultures (E4513)

Thick white shell disc with dark cut out design inserted in. This design is made of tortoiseshell and is said to be a stylised form of a frigate bird. Yet, there are several parts to this cut-out design. 4 pieces shaped like boiled sweets wrappers lie on top of each other from the outer edge of the shell inwards. Then there lies another piece of a similar shape, but with longer "tails". Attached to this piece is what might be the bird.(?). A hole is in the middle of the shell disc, through which twisted fibre cord is wound through 3 times and knotted off at the outer edge of the shell.

World Cultures (E4514)

8 pieces of bamboo, ranging in size. 4 covered with woven straw in red and yellow and 4 with incised geometrical coloured woven work.

World Cultures (E4516)

Consists of 2 bird bones which end in terminal circular knobs of cement. These little knobs have pitted designs e.g. 3 little pits in a row.

World Cultures (E4517)

A small ear scoop with sinnet string and a tassel of fibre. The scoop is thin oblong, smoothed, polished, with rounded ends and made of wood. At the top, twisted fibre cord loops through a hole. Knotted at one end, whilst the other end loops through a small ring, which is atop a tassel of fibre (frayed, of a darker shade, strands clumped together). the tassel is about the same length as the scoop.

World Cultures (E4518a)

Traces of red paint (or some sort of lacquer?) over outer surface, the area in the centre has been left plain but 2 ends are elaborately decorated with a black scroll design. Tubular. Inside the tube is undecorated. Lots of scratch marks.

World Cultures (E4518b)

There is a plain area in the centre of the plug but the two ends are decorated with a black incised scroll design. Tubular. Lighter shade than (a) and unstained. Inside is undecorated. Just a few small scratch marks.

World Cultures (E4519)

Made of 30 fine twigs bound together with a weaving of cane to form a comb. The cane is red and yellow and is so woven to form a decorative handle. Where the twigs are showing on the handle they have been stuck together to form brown stripes

World Cultures (E4520)

Pair of armlets made from boar's tusks. Each is curved into an almost complete circle.

World Cultures (E4521)

Ground trochus (?) shell used for armlets. More than one armlet is broken (one was at one point stuck together again using cellotape, but this has since turned yellow and dry causing the halves to separate again). All are thin and approx the same size. Several of them are covered in a dark yellow gelatinous glue-like substance, but how and when this was acquired is unknown. Various shades of off-white. (Trochus sea snails are commonly found in the Pacific. Their insides resemble mother-of-pearl. Often used to make personal accessories and ornamentation. Other museums with such armlets include Auckland, National Maritime, Te Papa)

World Cultures (E4522)

Turtleshell ear ornament. Shell is pierced to make two conjoined rings and triangular hole in between at the base of these ring shapes of the shell. This worked shell piece is attached to a flat thin and long rectangular strip. From this strip hangs six short strings of beads (grey) and fibre tassels.

World Cultures (E4525)

Length of dentalium, on string

World Cultures (E4526)

In form of 2 opposing sea birds, conjoined. Mother-of-pearl. 2D so flat outlines of birds. 2 legs, one for each, rectangular shared body and 2 heads with beaks that curve downwards like a seagull's

World Cultures (E4527)

Small circular nose ring of turtleshell with little hole pierced in it. Half is split into two parts.

World Cultures (E4528)

Crescent shaped breast plate of white shell, tooth edged with perforation at top of upper edge

World Cultures (E4530)

Crescent shaped pendant of mother-of-pearl. Suspended from stringof white shell beads

World Cultures (E4532)

Small cut circular pieces of white shell of nearly equal size.

World Cultures (E4534)

Pinkish, brownish shells strung together, tightly fixed. The shells are cut into small circular pieces

World Cultures (E4535)

8 strands of beads, predominantly white cirrcular rings. Interspersed are some black glass (?) beads with about 6 blue beads and 1 red bead,

World Cultures (E4536)

Wooden pestle and mortar for crushing betel nut. Mortar is polished wood, with a rim around the top edge, and carved bottom. The pestle is conical shaped, polished, one end split. For pounding betel nut.

World Cultures (E4537)

With shell spoon, which is crescent shaped, curved and shint. For crushing betel nut. The mortar is bottle shaped (its base has two chips in it) and the pestle is in the shape of a stick with a knob on the end for grinnding the nut. All 3 items are attached with twisted fibre cord (a later addition?).

World Cultures (E4540)

Made from bamboo and it has terminals made of lime. Both box body and its top have incised black and geometric ornamentation. The top has split and its lime terminal is coming away. There is a disc stuck inside the box. Supposedly for holding lime used in betel-nut chewing

World Cultures (E4542)

Small tubular bamboo lime box decorated with pattern of fine black lines (incised). For holding lime used in betel nut chewing. In 2 parts, separable.

World Cultures (E4543)

Made from bamboo and it has a lid. Scattered decoration. Small stick and lime in it.

World Cultures (E4545)

Decorated gourd with deeply burnt incisions.

World Cultures (E4546)

Plain with handle and cup. Scratch marks all over.

World Cultures (E4547)

Shallow piece of coconut shell bound with cane to a carved wooden handle

World Cultures (E4548)

3 mother of pearl scoops/spoons. The biggest has an expanded head and a tail end (it resembles a whale). All are roughly traingular in shape with rounded corners and polished.

World Cultures (E4549)

Painted black with a carrying cord

World Cultures (Eb452)

Payback figure, one of a pair, female. These anthropomorphic standing figures are 'tourist' copies of a traditional 'payback' figure which was a stylized image of a person who had been killed; traditionally the figures were discarded when the death was avenged. These hand made figures are created from a wooden structure padded and wrapped with leaves. The female figure is covered in white mud, which is traditionally worn during the mourning period, She wears a grass skirt, Job's tears seed necklace, and a red cane necklace, with an old net bag worn as a head covering. All this is traditional mouring attire for women in this area.

World Cultures (E4552)

Woven canework worn by fishermen to keep the glare of the sun off their eyes. Roughly woven with brightly coloured beads. These decorate the 2 protruding tips, larger blue and red beads (1 missing) holding smaller red and blue beads in place to form a decorative tassel

World Cultures (E4553)

Roughly woven and decorated at the tips with blue and red beads with smaller black and white beads in a tassel of 4 strands (many of these are missing and where the threads remain only a few beads are left on)