One of a pair of ear ornaments: shell disc overlaid with openwork ?horn disc. with three strings of beads ending in tassels of black hair with short red and black hair at the top. With a loop of cane on the shell disc. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 27/2/2006]

Collection type: Object
Description: One of a pair of ear ornaments: shell disc overlaid with openwork ?horn disc. with three strings of beads ending in tassels of black hair with short red and black hair at the top. With a loop of cane on the shell disc. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 27/2/2006]
Geographical reference: India
Asia > Southern Asia > India; Arunachal Pradesh Tirap River valley
Cultural groups: Konyak Naga
Person: Field collector John Henry Crace; PRM source John Henry Crace; PRM source John Henry Hutton
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1935
Date collected: By 1935
Acquisition information: Donated: 1935 Found unentered: Unknown date
Materials and processes: Material Shell, Material Bead, Material Hair, Material Animal Horn, Process Openwork, Process Perforated, Process Strung
Dimensions: Length: max 200 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1935.27.12.2
Research and responses: On page 177 of Naga: A Forgotten Mountain Region Rediscovered edited by Richard Kunz and Vibha Joshi (Basel: Museum der Kulturen, 2008) there is a colour image of a very similar pair of Naga ear pendants from the Sherman collection (Inventory number As 194a, b), which are described on the same page as a 'Pair of ear pendants for a wealthy man (hag [ho])' [ZM 14/05/2015]
In May 2015 Dr Vibha Joshi confirmed from looking at an image of the object and the full Museum record that these are very similar ear ornaments to the ones in the Sherman collection (Inventory number As 194a, b) published on page 177 of Naga: A Forgotten Mountain Region Rediscovered edited by Richard Kunz and Vibha Joshi (Basel: Museum der Kulturen, 2008). Joshi noted these were probably worn by men of chiefly clan (Ang clan), a wealthy man and was also able to add: 'There are older photos of Wanchu/ Wancho men that show men wearing these kind of ear ornaments. And my Konyak Naga contacts (Ms Phejin Konyak and Ms Sangke Konyak) have also informed me that they recognise them as from Tirap district, Arunchal Pradesh.' [ZM 15/05/2015]

Search terms: Ornament, Ear Ornament

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