Skull hut "kosa" ·  Solomon Islands · ID: 3037862

Description

constructed in shape of a pitched roof with ground floor and lowered side panels, made from rotan sticks accurately fixed by plant fibre cord, ovula shells, shell rings “poata” and shell ornaments “rago” lashed to the sides of the roof on the outside, inside are the human skull and further shell valuables including a shell ornament “barava” cut from the shell of the giant clam Tridacna gigas and a whale tooth “kalo”, good condition, one shell ring from the inside rep., traces of old age;
only the most important skull of the line’s founding ancestor was stored inside such a “kosa” basket which was kept hidden in the house to protect it from thieves. Shell rings and ornaments were valuables of the dead ancestor. The skulls of chiefs and notable ancestors however were stored in so-called “oru” skull shrines which were built of flat stones into the triangular form of a small house.

The object Skull hut “kosa” with the object ID 3037862 was last part of the auction 78th tribal art auction at October 18, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 47.

Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about Oceanian art.

Comparing literature

Conru, Kevin, Solomon Islands Art, Milan 2008, ill. 37