Necklace

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-neck ornaments

Culture Dani

Dateearly 20th Century

Made AtPapua (Irian Jaya) Province, Indonesia

MediumFiber, ribbon, bamboo, human finger and bone

Dimensions2 5/8 × 30 1/4 × 1/4 in. (6.7 × 76.8 × 0.6 cm)

Credit LineBowers Museum Purchase

Object number2009.5.10

DescriptionCrafted from human finger bones and collected in New Guinea during the early 20th Century, this necklace strings through eight human finger bones separated by relatively small bamboo shafts. The pendant hanging at center is a human finger with the nail and skin still attached. The origin of this necklace is likely a practice of mutilation used by the Dani people to mourn their dead.

On View

On view