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Pendant

Arts of the Pacific Islands

MEDIUM Pearl shell
  • Place Made: Solomon Islands
  • DIMENSIONS 1/2 × 3 1/16 × 4 5/16 in. (1.2 × 7.7 × 11 cm)  (show scale)
    INSCRIPTIONS Four labels on the back: "Ortiz, 29/6/70, #64"; "Beasley Collection, Solomon Group 4178, 1-7-36"; "303", "81.5"
    ACCESSION NUMBER 85.1
    CREDIT LINE Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Pendant carved from a single piece of slightly concave pearl shell. At the top are two opposing frigate birds which surmount an openwork design composed of four-pointed star surrounded by four cut-outs shaped vaguely like leaves. At the bottom of the pendant is a fish in profile. There is a hole for suspension at the top in the center where the tails of the frigate birds meet. The vertical edges of the piece are serrated but the serrations are not cut through to the back side of the shell. The front surface is a pale pearl shell with a yellow tinge at the top which darkens to violet tones at the bottom. The back of the piece is a mottled copper color which darkens to nearly black along the sides and at the bottom. The overall surface of the back is uneven.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Solomon Islander. Pendant. Pearl shell, 1/2 × 3 1/16 × 4 5/16 in. (1.2 × 7.7 × 11 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, 85.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.1_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 85.1_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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    Solomon Islander. <em>Pendant</em>. Pearl shell, 1/2 × 3 1/16 × 4 5/16 in. (1.2 × 7.7 × 11 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, 85.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.1_bw.jpg)