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.

The object Two pieces of shell currency “kina” with the object ID 3033553 was last part of the auction 71st tribal art auction at November 24, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 60 achieved a sales price of EUR 350.

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Comparing literature

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