A Man’s Ceremonial Apron

A man’s ceremonial apron composed of an upper belt made of woven fiber with five belt loops incorporated into the weave and two registers of Job’s tears seed. The lower section is composed of five vertical shell bead panels linked by a shell bead fishnet weave. The lower fringe is composed shell beads ending with a half seed shell and a fiber tassel. Three small dog teeth are incorporated within the shell beaded panels. Admiralty Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, PNG, Melanesia. Conus shells, feathers, seeds and fiber. 19th/20th century. 65 x 42 cm.

Provenance Collected in the field by Dr. Albert Hahl, Governor of German New Guinea between 1896 and 1914. Acquired directly from the familly.

Literature: See the Hahl photograph album by Phebe & Richard Parkinson for two other aprons in the Hahl collection.