Necklace · India, Naga · ID: 3036249
Description
shell, glass, bronze, big cylindrical glass beads in red-orange, in four strings thread on cord material, forming 12 strings with metal bells (fixed side-by-side through shell clasps);
from birth to death, ornaments marked the stages of a Naga’s life. Important rites of passage were accompanied by the wearing of appropriate jewelry. An Ao father acknowledged paternity by piercing a new-born’s ears. The Lotha tied a carnelian bead to a dead man’s wrist before burial. It was to be exchanged for a drink of water from the spirit whom he would meet on his journey to the Land of the Dead.
The object Necklace with the object ID 3036249 was last part of the auction 76th tribal art auction at March 22, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 26 achieved a sales price of EUR 250.
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Comparing literature
Kunz, Richard, Naga, Basel 2008, p. 96 ff.