 Amber Necklace |
 Gin Glass |
 Neck Ornament |
 Irish Lady's Tresses Orchid |
 The Lennox Quilt |
 Fossil Crinoids |
 Madonna and Child |
 A Red Alga |
 Irish Wolfhound |
 Coates Family Photograph |
 Chinese Ivory Puzzle Ball |
 Early Medieval Tomb-shaped Shrine |
 The Green Coat, Sir John Lavery |
 Juvenile Bald Eagle |
Neck Ornament
Hawaii
Thomson Collection
Accession number: C1910.311A
Length: 100 mm
The Ulster-born collector Gordon Augustus Thomson (1799-1886) travelled throughout the Pacific islands during the years 1836-1840. He visited the Hawaiian Islands twice and made a collection of objects, including a feather cloak belonging to King Kamehameha III and two neck ornaments. He met many of the important Hawaiian ruling class and kept a letter from the King enclosing some red and yellow feathers which were used in feather cloaks. Thomson gave the collection to the Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society in 1843. This collection passed to the Ulster Museum in 1910.
The neck ornament is a sperm whale ivory hook pendant, through which are threaded multiple bunches of 8-ply, plaited human hair. It is tied at the back with olona fibre cord. The Hawaiians did not hunt sperm whale so the ivory was usually obtained from European whaling and trading ships which called at the islands to obtain supplies. These neck ornaments were worn by men and women of chiefly rank. They were worn by men in battle, and by both men and women on ceremonial occasions.
Comment:
Winifred Glover, Curator of Non-Irish Collections
I particularly like this Hawaiian neck ornament because it is very beautiful and elegant. It evokes the romance of the Pacific islands in an age when travel was more difficult and dangerous than now. It also emphasises how nature can provide all the materials needed to make personal adornment, and the ingenuity and appreciation of beauty of the Pacific Islanders.
