Rare Bilas Baler Shell Pectoral Ornament Tribe Warrior Chief Gam Mendi wear BAL3

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Rare Bilas Baler Shell Pectoral Ornament Tribe Warrior Chief Gam Mendi wear BAL3:
$129.99

RareWarrior Baler Gam Shell Prestigious Male Ornament, Currency, Papua New Guinea Highlands, collected on the premises.

This item is selling for $289.99 on another marketplace.

Leveraging Bonanza\'s low selling fees, the seller has chosen to use their savings to give Bonanza buyers a better deal.

Very rare item, number Bal 3, scroll down for more informationon it.

You are buying the Rare Old Bailer Baler Shell Chest Decoration

seen on7 of thepictures, long and wide. Some photos show some such ornamentworn around the neck: it was worn on the chest and used as trade money or currency

This is a large old and rare bailer (baler) shell or Melomelobailerwith a necklaceof seed beads and minute colorbeads,thatwas once used as achest ornament(one local name for it is Mero Amfola). Suchrare large pieces were originally found on the beaches of the Gulf ofCarpentaria.

These Bailer Shells are the most prestigious male ornaments in theSouthern Highlands - valued much above anything else.

In traditional times, Such an item likely made its way from thePapuan Gulf into the interior of the Peninsula through trade. Such shells arevery important in the traditional tribal industry, if you can call it such. Therelatively flat surface near the lip of the shell can be cut into a woomera. It has many uses besides being worn as a bodyornament or penis protection, some being: as currency (in certain areas of New Guinea, bailer shellswere as bride price),as a general container, similar to a cup or coolamon, for carrying water or sugarbag honey (Water can be boiled in the shell by placing itdirectly on the hot coals in the fire and in the coastal villages and along therivers, to bail water out of canoes as some of those shells are very large, asthis one.

Such decorative items were only worn by the “BigMen”, the initiated men and the Shamans of Papua New Guinea during specialceremonies & rites, either as a pectoral ornament or as a groin covering.(A similar collector piece was featured at the exhibition \"The Art ofPapouans\" at the Museum” La Charité” in Marseilles – France)

Artistic expression in the Highlands is conveyed largely throughbody art. Diverse in both media and application, the major components ofHighlands body ornamentation include bird of paradise plumes, body paint, andan enormous variety of decorative objects made from shell, teeth, beetles,orchid stem, fur, bone, bark, wood, and fiber. (Moriarty recognized theimportance of this art and its central position in the broader context ofHighlands art. A visionary in any age, he not only developed a unique collectionof body decoration from the Highlands of New Guinea, but saw to it that thiscollection remained intact by donating it to the AGNSW. Today it is part ofwhat is possibly the world\'s most important accumulation of this art.)

We are closing our doors so everything has been reduced!

Check Dominique Rice Oceania Store in Sun Sentinel Newspaper, Fort Lauderdale, for information on our collection and authentic art.

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All our collector and rare items come with pages and pages of research about provenance, and with history of the tribes and photos as well, depending on item and whenever possible. When shipping internationally, we group ship multiple purchases to save you money, and find the best rates which often fails to calculate right. If you have any questions or want to see research conducted on this piece and photos of tribes, email or call us.

We have artifacts and architectural accents up to 10 ft tall that we will put on upon request because shipping has to be calculated accordingly with trucking company.