currency unit (currency & wealth); armlet (arm ornament)

General view of whole of Horniman Museum object no 30.31
General view of whole of Horniman Museum object no 30.31

Kula armlet for use in the famous Kula ring economic system of the Trobriand Islands. The armlet is composed from a giant Conus shell cut into a ring with the lip pierced and attached with three strings of white shell rings, each terminating in a pierced egg cowrie shell.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
30.31
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 223 mm x 76 mm x 44 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
Conus shell; cowrie shell; plant fibre
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
On display: Horniman Museum > World Gallery > Oceania > Sea crossing
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Collection Information

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