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1923.74.7

Arm ornament of conus shell.

1923.74.7

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Collection type
Object
Description
Arm ornament of conus shell.
Long description
Arm ornament of conus shell, of two sections joined with string, with a tassel of plaited pteropus hair and three small shells. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 22/11/2005]
Person
Field collector Emma Hadfield
Field collector London Missionary Society
PRM source Emma Hadfield
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1923
Date collected
1886 to 1920
Acquisition information
Purchased: 1923
Materials and processes
Material Shell, Material Pteropus Hair Animal, Material Conus Shell, Process Plaited, Process Perforated, Process Repaired (local)
Dimensions
Length: max 180 mm tassel, Diameter: max 85 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1923.74.7
Research and responses

The local name on Mare for arm ornaments like this is Waened. Pteropus fur string is an item of value, and an arm ornament like this is indicative of high status. The string used to join the two sections is called magnagna. This indicates that the repair was carried out locally and not in the museum. Information from Francois Wadra, visiting researcher from Mare, Loyalty Islands, September 2009. [El.B 24/09/2009]

For more information about the collector and donor see 'Emma Hadfield Among the natives of the Loyalty Group', by Hannah Ivory, pages 313 to 317 in Melanesia Art and encounter, edited by Lissant Bolton, Nicholas Thomas, Elizabeth Bonshek, Julie Adams, and Ben Burt (London: British Museum Press, 2013). On page 313 Ivory notes Emma, along with James Hadfield were London Missionary Society evangelists 'who resided on the islands of Ouvea and Lifou for nearly forty years, from 1886-1920...Recent research into the Hadfields' time in the Loyalties and their collecting activity indicates that it was principally Emma who collected the objects while in 'the field''. [ZM 4/5/2016]

For the donor's own publication see Emma Hadfield, 1920, Among the Natives of the Loyalty Group (MacMillan: London) [ZM 4/5/2016]

Search terms: Ornament, Status, Arm Ornament

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