Feather Currency (tevau), 19th century, 344 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 3/4 in. ( x x cm), Vegetable fiber, feathers, bark, shell, seed pods, wood, pig tail, Solomon Islands, 19th century, Feather currency was made exclusively on Santa Cruz Island and traded from there to other islands in Melanesia. This kind of currency was manufactured by three skilled craftsmen, esteemed for their ability to communicate with the spirits. Each roll required feathers from about three hundred birds, and it was the job of the first specialist to collect red ones from scarlet honeyeaters.

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Size: 6837px × 3752px
Location:
Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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