Pacific Islands Collectibles and Curiosities

Early 20th Century Shield, Wahgi Valley, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea This large, post contact, shield is traditionally decorated in bold colors with a central circle. This ...

Large South Pacific Tridacna Gigas Clam shell The shell is in very good condition and with a beautiful pink tint.  

Antique Collectible Ethnic Tribal Folk Art Crescent Shell Pieces Choker Necklaces from Papua New Guinea. Shell pieces cut from the gold lipped pearl oyster found off the waters of Papua New Guinea. Their opalescent color ranges from deep gold yellow to pale yellow. Each is pierced at the crescent point for a cord attachment enabling the owner to wear them singly or together around the neck. One had a line of holes along the inner edge of the crescent as a decorative feature. Highly Collectible Museum Pieces, worn by men and women rare old Kina Shell Necklaces (Huge Mother of Pearl Crescent) Pectoral Collected from the Foi Tribe (Papua New Guinea), Circa 1920’s. From the Art collection of Marian and John Scott. Acquisition date: 1969. Evaluation date records: 1982. About: For the people of the Highlands, shells were considered treasures. As they were items that came from distant shores of Papua New Guinea they were already objects used for trade. The number one source of mother of pearl wealth was and is still is from the Thursday Island, one of the chain of Island that suggests the ancient land bridge across the Torres Straits from Cape York, Australia to New Guinea. They were fashioned into objects of adornment worn on costumes, hair, nose, etc. Of particular rarity was the gold lipped pearl shell. References: Plumes and Arrows, Inside New Guinea, COlin Simpson, Angus and RObertson, 1968. CATEGORY Anthropology: Ethnography. Tribal Kina Shell Pectoral Necklace, Pearl shell ornamentation (neck). Kina (shell money) Oject part of Pacific Cultures Collections. Purchased from the amazing private collection of Mark Lissauer who spent his life collecting niche ethnographic pieces. About Mark Lissauer: Mark Lissauer spent forty years travelling abroad for months at a time collecting ethnographic artefacts primarily from New Guinea and the islands of the West Pacific, and from Asia and Himalayan countries. Fluent in five languages and having in the course of business travelled to more than forty countries, Mark is well-known to museums and art-collectors around the world for his long career and his interesting and diverse collection of rare ethnographic material. Mark knows the origin and symbolism of each piece. Through extensive research and more than ninety trips around the globe, Mark familiarised himself with the traditions of the various cultures he visited in order to understand the meaning of each object to its region and tribe. His home has a specialist library and several rooms are filled with tribal carvings, textiles and ethnographica. He acquired his first tribal piece in 1948 during a business trip to Milne Bay, New Guinea, and has since documented the acquisition of some 35,000 items. Several thousands of these have been sold to important private collections and museums worldwide, including the Rockefeller Museum, the British Museum and the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, now incorporated into the Louvre Museum. Estimator certificate of authenticity by Wayne Heathcote Tribal Art Dealer and Expert. Heathcote has a flash gallery in Brussels, where much of the tribal art business is centred, and is an expert at Sotheby's tribal art sale...

Nice composition in Dense Bunukwa rainforest hardwood, inlaid shell and lime. Carved wooden pig, standing, tail straight and protrudes backwards with rows of carved zig zag...

Ophidiaster ophidianus, measures: 495 × 418 × 140 mm, 576 g weight 2018, Océano Pacífico Red extra-size starfish! A fantastic specimen of Ophidiaster ophidianus caught in the Solo...

Small South Pacific Tridacna Gigas clam trinket.

A polished hardstone disc. Provenance unknown but probably a early 20th century Hawaiin Ulu Maika stoen. Ulu Maika is a ancient game simular to bowling played by the indigineaous Haw...

A Polynesian hardwood Ula tavatava or throwing war club Fiji, probably 18th century All-over decorated in incised pattern, the bulbous top seems to have a stone grown into it. H. 42 cm Including museum-quality powder-coated stand. Provenance: Private collection, France Polynesian culture is traditionally a culture of power and prestige, and there was a fine line between battle and ceremony. Warrior people par excellence, the Fijians had at their disposal a large panoply of weapons, each for a specific use. The elegant Gata are called gun-sticks by Europeans due to the recognizable form. However, they are designed after a snake, gata in Fijian language. The Ula throwing clubs...

This authentic tribal shaman’s medical bag, known as a Bilum bag, originates from Papua New Guinea and dates back to circa 1900. Traditionally used by shamans for carrying medicinal ...

Early 20th century shell money ring mounted on a custom made stand, Papua New Guinea.

A Polynesian ironwood Gata waka or war club Fiji, probably 18th century or earlier Measures: Height. 97 cm Including museum-quality powder-coated stand. Provenance: Private collection, France Polynesian culture is traditionally a culture of power and prestige, and there was a fine line between battle and ceremony. Warrior people par excellence, the Fijians had at their disposal a large panoply of weapons, each for a specific use. The elegant Gata are called gun-sticks by Europeans due to the recognizable form. However, they are designed after a snake, gata in Fijian language. The Ula throwing clubs...

ABOUT A vintage wooden mask constructed with wild boar tusks, shells, feathers and twin. Used in funeral ceremonials on the island of New Ireland, New Guinea.

This rare antique Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") war club is from the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea. It features a head made of stone in the characteristic 'pineapple' ...

Cotton Hawaiian vintage shirt with flora and fauna theme of Hawaiian islands; including multiple parrots and abundant flowers in a multiplicity o...

Made of soft, smooth, rayon and with an authentic sewn in on three sides "Diamond Head Sportswear" label, this vintage Hawaiian shirt is from t...

Two Oceanic ceremonial weapons from PNG highlands circa 20th century. It consists of two pieces. The first is an ax with a wood shaft and a flat elongated he...

This rare antique Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") war club originates from the Morobe Province, which is a very remote area located within the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Gu...