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Here's something special for those of you who have more than a passing familiarity with Naga material. This is a fine antique pair of Naga spiked bracelets. The pieces of this age and style are typically referred to as "heirloom" pieces, a category label that seems to have been coined by Julian Jacobs the author of the seminal work - The Nagas. This title has for all practical purposes become the default guide book for Naga ethnographica. Its a good book and indeed admirably comprehensive. Jacobs describes the heirloom "arm ornaments" on page 264 or 265 of the soft bound edition. There, a possible date of 16th century is attributed to pieces like this. Possible, but since I haven't seen the data that brings Jacobs to that conclusion... I have assigned a more modest date of 19th c, and I think these should have no problem at all meeting or surpassing that.

 This set was collected as a "pair" but note that one piece does have an etched design at the margins of the cuff, while the other one is plain. I have 2 sets like this and both sets have this characteristic, i.e. one cuff has margin etching while the other is more plain. Heirloom bracelets are often damaged, but this pair has no repairs or damage. Top notch and hard to find!