Gift of John W. Vandercook

Necklace made from a single large, crescent shaped piece of shell with ochre pigment on one side. Attached to a thick, woven, ochre-coloured woven band; one cowrie shell attached to band at each end. Three tufts of possum hair (on the skin) hang from the strap on short woven strings, also coloured with ochre.

Necklace of animal teeth. 87 teeth are tied adjacently to a braid of bast string, of approximately 70cm circumference, through small, round holes drilled through each tooth. The teeth range from 13mm to 33mm from base to tip, and range in colour from yellow-browns through to dark browns with ivory tips. All of the teeth are incisors except for a molar at one end where the string is tied in a knot.

A darkened armband of woven rattan fibre has a large tassel attached to a short braided rope of bast strings. The tassel consists of bees wax, coix seeds, black cassowary feathers, larger bronze-coloured feathers and long strips of rattan fibre.

Woven bag. The front is adorned with four horizontal stripes consisting of two tightly plaited cords above and below a bar of tan fibre which is woven into ‘v’ shapes. Light grey and brown feathers, some with black tips, drape down, tied with bast string holding coix seeds in diagonal crosses, followed by threads of coix and abrus seeds and cut sections of cassowary quill. More feathers and seeds are inside the bag. The strap is a loose braid of tighter braids of fibre, with two large knots in the middle. The ends of the strap are attached to the back with a knot near the top and continue down the back approximately 20 cm, woven intermittently into the body. A piece of cloth has been attached to the front with ‘Yasiu’ written in ink.

Small woven bag of bast string with a long, narrow, braided strap. The bottom is flat with rounded corners. Mostly light tan, there is some darker discolouration. The bag has a faded dark grey, charcoal horizontal stripe across the middle that is 1cm at its narrowest and 2.5cm at its thickest. There is a similar dark grey patch along one side of the strap where the charcoal has transferred from the main body.

A long, cylindrical, bast string bag in a loose weave with rounded base. Four charcoal-grey, horizontal stripes encircle the bag. Silver-grey stripes sit below. The braided strap has been interwoven on one side and tied to the opening on the opposite side.

A small, narrow, rectangular bag made of bast string. The bag has rounded edges at the base and a long strap. The weave pattern changes halfway down with the lines of the top section appearing more horizontal and the lower half more vertical. The ends of the strap are interwoven to the body on opposite sides.

Bag, roughly rectangular, made of pandanus fibre with rounded corners at the bottom and a thin, folded lip at the opening. The front is adorned with a pattern of rectangles and red ochre sections of the same but smaller shape, surrounded by a border of lime. Three vertical lines, constructed of a raised weave running perpendicular to the main body, are painted with red ochre. An ochre stripe continues horizontally, around the middle of the back. The braided strap overlaps the body by 20 cm at each end; interwoven into the body and knotted on the backside just under the lip and at the ends.

Small bast string bag with a long strap. The long bag narrows at bottom where it closes with a tie, while open at top where a braided handle is attached at opposite edges. The bag is covered on both exterior and interior with a brown substance. Dried mud covers part of the bottom half.