|
This necklace made of sperm whale tooth, a wasekaseka,
was collected before 1877. Whales were not hunted in Fiji before
European contact, though they were sometimes stranded on the shore.
So until the early nineteenth century, whale ivory was only available
in small quantities, and used by influential, high-status individuals.
Later, when whale teeth became more available, they were used more
frequently in ornaments and necklaces, though such necklaces were
never common.
View database
record 1884.74.23
|
