Detail Photos

Naga chank shell ear ornaments with exemplary classic form. The ear ornaments feature minimally rendered poker work anthropomorphic figures. Originally there would have had a knot or in some instances a glass bead or jobs tear on the front, which was attached to a string passing through the shell and with a small piece of bamboo at the end of the string. The bamboo piece worn on the back of the lobe, kept the shell ornaments fixed to the front of the ears.

Related examples can be seen in Jacobs' Naga book on page 232 of the soft cover edition, as well as on pages 106 and 107 of Somare and Vigorelli's, The Nagas.