Pubic Cover

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-pubic covers

Date19th to 20th Century

Made AtWestern Province, Papua New Guinea

MediumBailer shell and fiber

Dimensions14 × 5 × 1 1/2 in. (35.6 × 12.7 × 3.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih

Object number2006.11.35

DescriptionShells are often used for decoration throughout Melanesia, even in locations hundreds of miles from the coast such as the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Often traded from one family to the next, shells can be traded deeper into the forest and higher into the mountains over generations. Consequently some shell ornaments have been dated at several hundred years old. A variety of shells such as bailer or clam shells are used as ornamentation to cover either the chest or pubic area of the body.

On View

On view

Collections