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Necklace
Sepik
20th century, 1950–2000
Object Place: Sepik River, Papua New Guinea
Medium/Technique
Melo shell, pink plastic, nylon thread
Dimensions
Overall: 42 x 16 x 3 cm (16 9/16 x 6 5/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2756
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Contemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pectorals
In New Guinea, particularly in urban areas, women create personal adornments out of plastic pieces, beads, or other items from inexpensive necklaces they purchase and disassemble. They then restring the necklaces with old beads and other traditional materials. This necklace combines traditional braided vine and oval bailer shells with nylon and a piece of pink plastic, shaped to match the shell.
Provenance1967, acquired in Angoram, Sepik, Papua New Guinea by Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)