earring

Mamuli earring or pendant, brass. Roughly diamond-shaped with a slit at the base leading to a circular aperture at the centre. A foot at each side of the base with figures under a parasol. In the past mamuli were made of gold. Plain mamuli were given by wife-takers to wife-givers as bridewealth gifts, while more decorated mamuli were kept as sacred house altar objects. Now they are used by girl dancers in Lauli and Anakalang, sometimes worn in one earlobe and sometimes suspended round the neck by a chain. Sumba, Indonesia.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
2012.43
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 160 mm x 163 mm x 35 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
brass
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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Collection Information

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