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Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1
Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1

Rare Old “Big Man”, Village Chief Tribal Pectoral Ornament necklace worn for special celebrations, initiations: 14 Dingo, Boar Fangs Trophy, Bride Price, Currency, trade item. Highlands of Papua New Guinea, collected in the late 1900’s. TEE1

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Hard to find tribal pectoral Decorative & unique art.

This is an amazing pectoral ornament from Papua New Guinea

ItemTEE1, Important  Dingo or boar fangs Trophy.

Large, original necklace of teeth representing the sun.

Pectoral decoration or necklace consisting of 14 fangs, attached together through a weaving of hand twisted natural bush twine made of grasses and bark, and strung onto a necklace of local seed beads. Worn by a chief during initiations. (also used as currency, worth, bride price and as payment during feuds)

Shell, teeth, bone, wood, and natural fiber binding, all crafted with great care, are the raw materials of most Oceanic jewelry. Brightness and shininess were greatly admired, and rarity, as with whale teeth among Polynesians or shell in the highlands of PNG, enabled particular objects to connote wealth, prestige, and power. 

 Collected in the field

Highlands of Papua New Guinea

The tribes of New Guinea Highlands have lived in isolation for centuries due to the remoteness of their land and its difficult access. Their dress code has remained primitive for centuries. Traditionally, the men wear no other clothing apart from a penis sheath made of a cultivated gourd and known locally as a “horim” and some simple ornamentation such as string hair nets, bird of paradise feathers and necklaces with boar tusks or cowrie shells. The upper canines of the boar are knocked out leaving the lower tusks to grow without being worn down by contact with the upper tusks. The pigs are never killed except for feasts or as part of a special ceremony. The tusks were used in pairs in single necklaces or in large necklaces consisting of 20 or more tusks. The necklaces and individual tusks were used to purchase land and also as bride price, blood money, ransom, and admission to men’s clubs and secret societies.

Adornment among the highland people of is among the most colorful and spectacular in , particularly during festivals, where it reflects the strength and pride of the various groups of the region. 

Artistic expression in the is conveyed largely through body art. Diverse in both media and application, the major components of Highlands body ornamentation as we mentioned above include bird of paradise plumes, body paint, and an enormous variety of decorative objects made from shell, teeth, beetles, orchid stem, fur, bone, bark, wood, and fiber. Moriarty recognized the importance of this art and its central position in the broader context of art. A visionary in any age, he not only developed a unique collection of body decoration from the Highlands of New Guinea collected between 1850 and 1880, but saw to it that this collection remained intact by donating it to the AGNSW. Today it is part of what is possibly the world's most important accumulation of this art.