armlet

Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Object Type
Museum number: Oc,M.333
Description: Armlet, known as mwali, made of a naturally overlapping ring of carved and polished conus shell. The outer end has drilled holes to which a cluster of black glass beads is attached with fibre. From this depend four strings of glass beads, one with three white beads. Another has an attached cockle shell. Pandanus leaf attachment missing?
Production ethnic group: Made by: Trobriand Islander; Made by: Massim
Excavator/field collector
Findspot: Found/Acquired: Trobriand Islands
Materials: cone shell; glass; fibre; cockle shell; pandanus leaf
Technique: carved; drilled; beadwork; polished
Dimensions: Diameter: 6.50 centimetres
Curator's comments: This type of object is known as mwali and is part of the kula exchange in the Trobriand Islands. In a long standing tradition, men trade shell valuables such as necklaces and armbands along specific pathways. The reputation of each trader is determined and sustained through this network. A man’s status in his community is maintained through this exchange system.
Bibliographic references
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history: 2019 12 Mar-7 Jul, Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Oceania 2018 18 Sep-9 Dec, London, Royal Academy of Arts, Oceania
Funder name
Acquisition date: 1922
Department: Africa, Oceania and the Americas
Registration number: Oc,M.333
Additional IDs: CDMS number: Oc1922C11.333 (old CDMS no.)
Conservation

Free entry

Opening hours