Necklace Currency
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-neck ornaments
Datemid 20th Century
MediumShell, beads, fish wire and yarn
Dimensions58 × 1/8 × 1/8 in. (147.3 × 0.3 × 0.3 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2017.10.68
DescriptionThis shell currency piece consists of a long strand of fish wire adorned with small coral colored circular shell bead discs. The ends of the piece are decorated with yellow, blue, black, orange, green, red and white beads with purple yarn. In many Melanesian communities, shells were utilized as a form of currency and simultaneously as supplies for high-priced ornamentation. As a form of currency, shells were used in trades along the coast and nearby islands. The further distance a shell traveled, the higher their value would increase. Therefore, the price and social value of an adornment increased depending on the inclusion of a well-traveled shell. Strings of shell currency could be used to purchase highly priced items, such as small dogs or pigs, depending on the length of the currency strand and types of shells used in the piece. In some cultures, string of money cowrie measuring the wingspan of a father’s outstretched arm, could be used to purchase his daughter as a bride.On View
Not on view
mid 20th Century
early to mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid to late 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
late 20th Century
mid 20th Century
late 19th to early 20th Century