Dog Tooth Tribal Necklace

This is an exceptional, collectors specimen of a beautiful, very old dog tooth tribal necklace which is set onto a think woven bush twine neck band and decorated with three tightly positioned rows of nassa shells. The woven band has a dark patina appearance resulting from frequent use and is slightly damaged from age and usage.

The incisor teeth from dogs are an old traditional form of village currency in the Sepik Region and they get handed down from generation to generation and sometimes used in bride-price payments.

Length ; 32 cm/ 13 ins. Boikin, Sepik region.