A digital archive showcasing the extensive collection of jewellery and adornment images shared on the former Ethnic Jewels Ning site over the years. These images have significantly enriched discussions on cultural adornment and its global dispersion.
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I saw them in the book, Joost and they look a lot like the bracelet in the decoration!
Thanks for that observation, Harald, and I should really have pointed out, some way, that one express purpose in posting this was to draw attention to the similarity between the decoration here and that on Hillary Louarti's splendid bracelet. I believe that I did say in relation to that piece that I posted this, so that people interested in that piece would be aware of the fact that there are objects known which rather support the notion that that bracelet may be from the Admiralty Islands. You obviously believe in having good reference books, Harald! But many people on EJ would probably not have the Ohnemus book, hence my offering this picture from it.
Thanks Joost! Enjoyed seeing these. Someone I know has a few things from Fiji that are very interesting. Would love to see more things from Pacific Islands.
Tribal Heritage: there is indeed nothing specific about the use of shells in association with fertility, and you are right to point out that that link is frequently made. However, what counts here are the specific patterns, notably the geometric ones, which are unusual in Oceanic culture outside the Admiralty Islands, and which may well indicate a link between the decoration on these shells and that on Hillary's bracelet. That, and that alone, is the point of the comparison that I am making - and which Linda initiated by referring to the decoration on slim armbands in the Admiralty Islands which is also very similar to the decoration on Hillary's larger piece. I extended Linda's comparison by finding larger objects (these penis ornaments) on which the distinctive Admiralty Islands markings are very much in evidence as well.
Tribal Heritage, I think that actually you miss my point. We are, in trying to determine where Hillary Louarti's bracelet comes from, not looking at universal patterns, but at decorative motifs within a small range of Oceanic cultures. I can only repeat what I said before: in Melanesian jewellery these particular incised motifs are typical of the Admiralty Islands, and not of other cultures in the region. All this has nothing to do with what is used in Asian tribal cultures etc.
Although the express purpose was to find out about Hillary's bracelet, this purpose does not mitigate against other people commenting upon these shells in a more general way. It would be wonderful to point out the exact location of Hillary's bracelet, but other observations as to the patterns are welcome. These threads belong to all of us and all members have the right to input. If the purpose of a thread is so incredibly specific and private that no one outside of this specific interest is tolerated, then it is best to carry on this very specific discussion via the message board. Just my opinion.
These do have some resemblance to the bracelet, though the designs are different. Lovely pieces!
These were like the ones i found in the book next to bracelets with similar design. the color in the cracks also related to HIllary's piece, brown as apposed to a black which is used in other areas.
I am sorry to have posted this separately, for that means that I have created a separate thread from the one on Hillary's bracelet. I have asked Hillary whether she can perhaps transfer an image of this to that thread, for that would be more purposeful. Tribal Heritage, I have also, on the bracelet thread, made a comment on the fact that this bracelet has, as I had noted quite some time ago, the form of a "mwali", which is used in the Massim trading cycle to which you refer below, the Kula. The incised shell which Preethi showed us, and which has a very different shape, is NOT used in the Kula, and is NOT a mwali. The one Hillary posted does indeed have the mwali shape - but mwalis are not normally decorated themselves by being incised. They are plain, with attachments. So Hillary's bracelet would be quite abnormal as a mwali, which makes it unlikely that it was used for that purpose - though not, of course, impossible, if other examples are found. So far Truus and I think that unlikely. However, I shall grant that we do not know of Admiralty Islands bracelets of this form (that of Hillary's bracelet), even though the decoration of e.g. the shells here is similar. For the moment I can only say that a Massim origin is unlikely as mwalis were not incised; that the FORM of this is nevertheless that of a mwali; that the incised "bulging" shell which van Cutsem classifies as Geelvinck Bay is not one used in the Kula cycle, and may be, for all we know, indeed from Geelvinck Bay (so a completely different location than the Massim area); while the decoration would quite conceivably be that of an Admiralty Islands object, but the form of the armband is not found in e.g. Ohnemus's book and not typical of the Admiralty Islands. I am, however, seeking advice from Chris Boylan, and will try Todd Barlin or someone else if I don't hear from him.
Here is a photo of a mwali which Truus and I own and are happy to live with every day. I first posted this in 2010, when joining "ethnic jewels": https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/papua-new-guinea-wealth?context=.... The image is still in my photo section. The mwali, per se, is just the shell placed centrally at the top (technically a bracelet). Characteristically, the ornament is beautified, and made a very different proposition, aesthetically, by the addition of other decorative material - not by incising the mwali shell itself. From *Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment*, p. 6. Truus extensively discussed the Kula cycle and items used within it in her long chapter on New Guinea.