Vintage Shell Ear Covers Buffalo Design, India (1640EKE)

Description

The Naga are a collection of tribal ethnic groups in India and Myanmar (Burma) with a similar culture including a headhunting tradition in its past. They believed head-taking was a sign of courage and the head taken increased both individual and collective tribal power. Their culture was ended by Christian missionary influence near the end of the 19^th century when headhunting tradition ceased. Secluded from other cultures until the middle of the 20th century, the Naga have excellent artistic skills using a large variety of materials: shells, wood, stone, glass, horns, tusks, bone, animal teeth and metal.

Nagaland conch shell ear covers are worn by men and attached to their pierced ears through a hole in the shell using thin natural fiber strings with glass, wood or bamboo bead stoppers. They are usually decorated with one of two stippled (engraved, marked with black dots) images. The “horn motif” is an abstraction of V-shaped horns of the Indian bison enclosing the buffalo’s neck and head. It is a symbol of wealth, prosperity. The stylized “human motif” is a standing male with raised arms, hands and fingers spread signifying the warrior’s status in the tribe.  

This design of this ear cover is abstract, simple, and defines what seems at first to be an abstracted frontal male upper body. In fact, the motif is of an Indian bison called a mithun or gayal that abounds in Naga architecture and is also symbol of prosperity, wealth, and fertility. The design rises from the bottom forming a large V-shape and curves outward and down to suggest a pair of curving horns. An abstract oblong circle empty in the center is the animal’s head attached to a long neck centered between the horns. Unlike other earrings, this has no stippled border outline surrounding the shell.

The mithun is important in the economic, cultural, and social life of the Naga, as it a source of meat, milk, horns, and many other things. This is confirmed by the Nagaland Mithun Festival that honors the semi-domesticated animal which lives in the Himalayan t foothills of India, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

This piece is excellent condition mounted on a  frosted Acrylic base to complement any decor and is especially impressive as part of the three similar ear coverings with 1639A-GKE and 1639B-EKE.