Ornament and currency ring "yua" · Papua New Guinea, Abelam · ID: 3032570
not available anymore
Size
D: 12 cm (inside), 28 cm
D: 4.7 inch (inside), 11.0 inch
Description
cut from tridacna shell, slightly vaulted on the outside, natural veined, on metal base;
such rings were used as primitive money but men used to wear them during ritual dances as well. Sometimes they were given to young girls who were about to marry. They fixed the rings to special bags used to be worn with a headband, and thus made them an important part of their festive costume. They were used for decoration of the big yams root as well.
Comparing literature
Aumann, Georg, Kunst und Kunsthandwerk aus Neu Guinea, Coburg 1986, p. 147