Chest Ornament
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-chest ornaments
Date20th Century
Made AtPapua New Guinea
MediumBailer shell and fiber
DimensionsIncluding top strap: 16 3/4 × 8 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (42.5 × 21.6 × 8.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih
Object number2014.15.16
DescriptionBailer shells are the shells of the melo genus of gastropods, large marine snails. The colloquial name bailer is said to have originated when Europeans observed the peoples of Australia using such shells to remove, or bail, the water out of their canoes. Shells are often used for decoration throughout Melanesia. Even in locations hundreds of miles from the coast such as the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. 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
Not on viewCollections
19th to 20th Century
19th to 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 19th - early 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
20th Century