Marshall Islands, Micronesia
Circa 1890
Ivory, fiber cord
Height: 8 inches (20.3 cm); Width: 14 inches (35.6 cm) including frame
Provenance: Purchased from Sacred Heart Mission, SVD, Hiltrup, Germany, 1963; L. Van Busel, Amsterdam, 1963; Anne Vanderstaete, Brussels, 1966; Zaira and Marcel Mis, Brussels; Marcuson and Hall, Brussels
Buni necklaces are among the most refined adornment objects produced in the Marshall Islands, worn by individuals of rank and exchanged as markers of status and alliance within island society. This example is composed of carved ivory elements suspended from a finely worked fiber cord, with disk elements flanking a central pendant and a row of slotted ivory plaques forming the lower fringe. An old museum collection label is attached to the central pendant, consistent with early institutional handling and adding to the documented history of the piece.
The provenance of this necklace begins with the Sacred Heart Mission SVD in Hiltrup, Germany, acquired in 1963 at the point of the mission's withdrawal from Micronesia following the post World War I transfer of German island territories. Four subsequent European collections in Amsterdam and Brussels document nearly six decades of careful custody, each transfer adding a further layer to one of the more thoroughly documented chains of ownership for a Marshall Islands object currently on the market. The old label attached to the pendant is consistent with museum or mission inventory practice of the period.
This item contains ESA antique exempt ivory and cannot be sold internationally, or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that it was made prior to 1972.
We ship free within the United States, fully insured, packed by hand.
Marshall Islands, Micronesia
Circa 1890
Ivory, fiber cord
Height: 8 inches (20.3 cm); Width: 14 inches (35.6 cm) including frame
Provenance: Purchased from Sacred Heart Mission, SVD, Hiltrup, Germany, 1963; L. Van Busel, Amsterdam, 1963; Anne Vanderstaete, Brussels, 1966; Zaira and Marcel Mis, Brussels; Marcuson and Hall, Brussels
Buni necklaces are among the most refined adornment objects produced in the Marshall Islands, worn by individuals of rank and exchanged as markers of status and alliance within island society. This example is composed of carved ivory elements suspended from a finely worked fiber cord, with disk elements flanking a central pendant and a row of slotted ivory plaques forming the lower fringe. An old museum collection label is attached to the central pendant, consistent with early institutional handling and adding to the documented history of the piece.
The provenance of this necklace begins with the Sacred Heart Mission SVD in Hiltrup, Germany, acquired in 1963 at the point of the mission's withdrawal from Micronesia following the post World War I transfer of German island territories. Four subsequent European collections in Amsterdam and Brussels document nearly six decades of careful custody, each transfer adding a further layer to one of the more thoroughly documented chains of ownership for a Marshall Islands object currently on the market. The old label attached to the pendant is consistent with museum or mission inventory practice of the period.
This item contains ESA antique exempt ivory and cannot be sold internationally, or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that it was made prior to 1972.
We ship free within the United States, fully insured, packed by hand.
