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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: LOT of 3 breast ornaments

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Ethnographic Start Price:110.00 USD Estimated At:120.00 - 180.00 USD
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: LOT of 3 breast ornaments
SOLD
120.00USD+ (24.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2022 Sep 16 @ 19:46UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: LOT of 3 breast ornaments, including two examples of omak, one with 41 sticks and very old (Opitz p.245 plate example), the other with 50 sticks, as well as a very old colored wooden ornament of the Fore people, carved in the shape of two birds and decorated with beads and clam shells; retail value $250, lot of 3 items, ex Charles Opitz Collection. The omak is a series of bamboo sticks attached parallel to each other and worn vertically in front of the chest (see Opitz p.71). Each stick represents an amount of wealth in pigs, axes, shell money and other items. It is thus a symbol of wealth and prestige and identifies the wearer as a "big man."