Two pieces of shell currency "kina" ·  Papua New Guinea - Highlands, Mendi · ID: 3033553

Description

mother of pearl, each of them sickle-shaped and attached to a knotted plant fibre band, dyed with red pigment, reddish mass (clay/resin) in a thick layer at the back of one of the “kina” shells, kuskus fur, animal tails, lower jaw of a small animal, one of the “kina” rep. at the lower rim;
such shells were means of trade and payment. Only on special occasions they were used as ornament, but not worn around the neck, but affixed to a pillow of grass. “Kina” is the Pidgin term for mother of pearl, which gave the modern currency of Papua New Guinea its name. The shells, often bearing individual names, were kept in special bags made of leaf sheaths, bark, cloth and leaves.

Comparing literature

Heermann, Ingrid, Menter, Ulrich, Schmuck der Südsee, München 1990, p. 38, p. 59/ill. 4