Kina Shell Neckless (Hale Pange)
Huli, Melpa, Mendi, and neighboring peoples
German New Guinea - British New Guinea - Territory of New Guinea (Highlands, Papua New Guinea)
First half of the 20th century
Kina shell, plant fiber, cowrie shell, hide/fur, ochre
Height: 7 3/8" (18.7cm)
Width: 7" (17.8cm)
Collection Date: 2023

Ex. Eduardo Risueno: Harrogate, UK (2023)
Ex. Late Rolf Italiaander Collection: Museum Rade, Hamburg, Germany (1989)
Ex. Johnson Collection: Los Angeles, California, USA

An old kina shell, crescent-shaped and polished, from the yellow-lipped clam. These types of necklaces were extensively traded from the Guinea coast into the highlands and used as symbols of status, for prosperity, wealth, currency, and adornment. Incidentally, even today, the currency of Papua New Guinea is called "kina.”

The shell necklace retains its original wide plaited suspension strap of twisted plant fiber bands, accented with two cowrie (tange) shells on each side. Both shell and fiber richly dyed red with ochre. A small patch of hide and fur, dyed with red / orange pigment is attached to the band. There is a restored section at the top left of the shell where it had cracked, along with some minor fraying on the strap above. Held on a custom black iron stand with wooded base.

This item was one of a large number of quality pieces from Africa and Oceana purchased in 1989 from the late Rolf Italiaander (explorer, ethnographer, collector, writer). Beforehand, it was part of the Johnson Collection in Los Angeles, USA.

Photograph 14: Men performing a dance or ritual, Mount Hagan / Central Highlands Region, Ealry 20th century.
Photograph 15: Men during a dance or ritual, Mount Hagan / Central Highlands Region, Ealry 20th century.
Photograph 16: Two boys posing for a photograph, Motu Motu, between 1881 and 1889. Photograph taken by Reverend William G Lawes (1839 - 1907). Lawes was a missionary based in the Papuan Gulf, who established the London Missionary Society’s station in Port Moresby in 1874.

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[1] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_2007-2017-1

[2] https://collections.penn.museum/collections/object/349260

[3] https://prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-46105

[4] https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/1721977/

‍[5] https://www.michaelbackmanltd.com/object/stained-kina-shell-necklace/

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