digital photograph
- Museum number
- Oc,Ca46.20
- Title
- Series: Thomas Edge-Partington album 6
- Description
-
Digital image of a photograph of Irobaoa of Suaba in body ornaments, full figure, with his small daughter (in series with Oc,Ca46.19)
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- This photograph is published in Burt (2009) 'Body Ornaments of Malaita' page 28, with the following caption (abridged):
Irobaoa of Suafa, on the coast of north Malaita, posed as a wealthy chief of the sea people (mentioned by Ivens 1930:55, 69) for this portrait, and a closeup, in around 1910. He wears a fine set of valuable north Malaita ornaments. On his head Irobaoa has a mass of split-bright-strips ('abafilutafi) of palmleaf, probably stained red and fixed to a comb, two cowries (fa'ibuli) and a large turtle-pattern (funifunu, or dala) ornament, probably especially valuable for having been traded from western Solomons (to judge by the design). He has earrings (tege) of turtleshell, one with a conus (kome) ring , and a fine scorpion (fafari) nose-pendant. His necklace is of hundreds of the most valuable robo dolphin teeth.
The enclosed-strap ('ababanibani) bands on his arms and his belt (fo'o'aba) are of glass beads (the belt would normally be tied at the front, as it is in the close-up). He also has conus (fa'ikome) arm-rings, conus-rattles (ketekome) at the knees and rattan bands (obi) at the ankles. He wears his calico in a characteristic Malaitan style, and holds a deflector ('alafolo) club.
Irobaoa’s daughter wears a valuable fence (biru) of dolphin teeth around her neck and a maiden’s susuru belt, probably of glass beads, holding her leaf apron. (Photographer unknown, Edge-Partington collection)
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 2005
- Acquisition notes
- Copied from an album of photographs compiled by Thomas W. Edge-Partington prior to 1920, in possession of his son Capt. Thomas K. Edge-Partington, who assigned conditional copyright to the British Museum in 2005 (See PicDoc 186).
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Oc,Ca46.20