Collar (Shell )

Here half-split cowries are tightly tied to a spun cord of vegetal fiber, forming a neckband of 44 cm length. On one end the band has a loop, on the other a piece of thread chat can be pulled through the loop to close the collar. According to Schadenberg, this decorative piece originates from the "Guinanenrancherie Tangleian" [German original]. Most likely he is referring to Tinglayan in the area of the southern Kalinga. A similar piece is kept in the Schadenberg Collection in Dresden (7354 Sch., Meyer and Schadenberg 1890: 13); it originates from Pugon and its cord is covered and run in with red cotton fabric. The Dresden piece is identified as a neck adornment for men and considered a "Werthstiick" (antiquated German for "valuable item"). (Ursula Brandl-Straka 2009: 42)

Share this

Images

Map Vienna Museum of Ethnology

Identifier

MVW 42047

Origin

Northern Luzon, Gran Cordillera Central; Kalinga

Materials

Shell, plant fiber

Physical Dimensions

74x1.9 cm

Provenance

Schadenberg; before 1891 Alexander Schadenberg (1851-1896) was a chemist and ethnographer, and a natural history enthusiast. Born in Breslau, Germany, he studied chemistry and botany. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked as the assistant director of the Potassic Salt Works in Stassfurt. In 1876, he went to worked as a chemist for the drug company Pablo Sartorius in Manila and in 1879, illness forced him to move back to Breslau. From 1881 to 1883, Schadenberg and his friend Otto Koch visited southern Mindanao to carry out ethnographic and linguistic studies, basing themselves in the Bagobo village of Sibulan. There, they also made ethnographic and natural history collections. Upon their return to Germany Schadenberg spent several years working on his collections, publishing, lecturing and corresponding with museums and anthropological societies throughout Europe. Schadenberg later returned to the Philippines and became a partner of Pablo Sartorius. He settled with his family in Vigan in 1885 and continued his excursions among the native people of the islands. After Schadenberg's death in 1896, his collections passed to several museums in Dresden, Vienna, Berlin, and Leiden.

Acquisition Date

before 1891

Display status

Not on Display

References

The Philippines: Museum of Ethnology, Vienna : Early Collections. Vienna: Museum für Volkerkünde, 2009. Print.

Official Website

https://www.weltmuseumwien.at/

Collection

Vienna Museum of Ethnology

Source

Translated from German by Google Translate Record accessed March 2021

Cite this Page

“Collar (Shell ),” Mapping Philippine Material Culture, accessed April 20, 2024, https://philippinestudies.uk/mapping/items/show/6017.

Geolocation

Related Items

Sensitive Content
Mapping Philippine Material Culture collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards Filipino and Filipino diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Mapping Philippine Material Culture’s views. Mapping Philippine Material Culture maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities.