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 wonder if the Aborigines have copied the marks that those bugs make in the gum trees - like trails - which I just love, they are zig zags and look quite artistic.
On another subject I often wondered why the Congolese painted white dots on their wooden masks, did they copy the measles the white man must have brought with them?
It was either measles they copied or the dots off the guinea fowl.
Every mark comes from somewhere, something seen and copied by the aborigine people of this world.
Whatever, these marks definitely remind me of the gum trees with the "bug trails".
Ann what a nice observation! I made pictures of those beatle marks on the gum trees.
And also a very nice lonka lonka this is Joost!
Very interesting and telling observations, ann and Harald, about those beetle marks!
Harald, I love the picture of the beetle marks on the gum tree. Good one! Most ideas come from nature anyway.
Good point, Ann. In discussion of aboriginal motifs often more than one natural source tends to function, as of course there are zigzags of various kinds. Also, completely different meanings may be assigned by different artists - and particularly different groups - to one and the same component, e.g. a spiral (or a zigzag). So although some people try to draw up dictionaries of symbols, the situation is in practice more complex than that. Aboriginal art uses, in fact a fairly limited range of motifs, and will re-assign meanings according to the wish(es) of artists and communities. But I do think that the zigzag motif which you drew attention to and which Harald showed us such a good image of must indeed have been one source of inspiration! There is a special little book on pubic covers made of pearl shell, and I shall have a look at that, just to see ...