Lot 309
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Oceania, Melanesia, eastern Solomon Islands, Malaita Province, central Malaita Island, Kwaio peoples, ca. 19th century CE. An intriguing and rare pair of girdle belts known as fo'osae meant to be worn by a man high above his waist. The top girdle features a trio of brown-hued rattan palm strips that are bound in 5 equidistant areas with lengths of dried Vitaceae (grape) vines. The longer girdle is comprised of 2 lengthy rattan palm strips that are secured with Vitaceae vines in 18 areas and lined with strips of rattan fibers painted in crimson hues and decorated with panels of negative resist linear motifs. Girdles like these examples were traditionally worn by men for defensive purposes during ritual fighting, but they were also donned during important social events like diplomatic meetings and visiting other areas of Malaita. An attractive and scarce set of girdles from Malaita! Size of largest (red paint): 129.5" L x 1" W (328.9 cm x 2.5 cm); (brown): 34.25" L x 1.125" W (87 cm x 2.9 cm); 11.3" H (28.7 cm) on included custom stand.
According to Ben Burt, curator of the Oceania section at the British Museum and professor of World Arts at Birkbeck College, University of London, "Ru fuana laungilana alana ngwae or ornaments for the waist, of separate kinds for men and women, included girdles and bands of vine-strip and belts of strung and woven beads. Fo'osae or girdle is a man's ornament made of four strips of the large band-rattan (obi), bound together with shreds of vine-strip such as Vitaceae vine (adi'o), Anodendron vine (kwalo 'abe), Gnetum (dae) tree-bark strip or ongaonga vine." He then explains how, "A girdle could be ornamented in several ways. Some or all of the band-strips might be stained with red dye (dilo). The bindings might have strips of contrasting colour at the ends, such as dark ongaonga added to light Vitaceae ('adi'o) bindings. Narrow rattan-strip, stained with red dye, could be laid to cover the line between the main band-strips and fixed at the two ends of the girdle." Furthermore, "The girdle was worn tied tightly around the waist, well above the hips and above other belts, which could be worn with it. It was intended to give a man strength, endurance and protection for fighting. It might be dedicated to an ancestral ghost with a relic such as a piece of bone tied to it, making it tabu and requiring him to pray to the ghost when putting it on. Even so, it was also worn for ornament, for visiting or for dancing." (Burt, Ben. "Body Ornaments of Malaita, Solomon Islands." The British Museum Press, London, 2009, p. 138)
Cf. Burt, Ben. "Body Ornaments of Malaita, Solomon Islands." The British Museum Press, London, 2009, p. 138, fig. 203.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, between 1995 to 2010; ex-Marist Mission, Netherlands, 1933
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#168540
- Condition: Loosening to some Vitaceae strips, red-painted rattan bands, and rattan palm strips, with minor abrasions and splintering in some areas, and fading to red pigment in scattered areas, otherwise excellent. Great preservation to most red pigment, and nice patina throughout. Girdles have not been removed from display stand to test their pliability. Old inventory label inside of display stand.
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