**Originally Listed At $1000**

Oceania, Melanesia, Solomon Islands, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A beautiful example of a kapkap, a head or pectoral ornament made of a shell disc with intricate overlay design cut from tortoiseshell (sea turtle) and attached via knotted cord through the center. Kapkaps were produced by communities in Papua New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, New Ireland and Bougainville, through to Santa Cruz Islands. These giant clamshell ornaments were made and prized by many Melanesian peoples, but it reached its apogee in the Solomon Islands. Kapkaps were the most valuable ornaments and formed the property of important people, taking into consideration the enormous time and effort involved in their production. They were worn mostly by men as status symbols, and the geometric motifs may have had a symbolic meaning- the circular sunburst resembling the sun- but meanings are ambiguous and many are probably purely decorative. Size: 3.5" Diameter (8.9 cm); 5" H (12.7 cm) on included custom stand.

Several states and countries prohibit the importation of materials from endangered species, including tortoise shell / sea turtle shell. Please check your country's laws before bidding on this piece. We guarantee that the piece was made prior to 1973.

Provenance: private Dallas, Texas, USA collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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#177524

Crack to outer rim of turtle shell openwork. 3 stable hairline striations and nicks on white sea shell. Rest is intact and great condition.