Ceremonial Chest Ornament

Collection Jean-Pierre Dutilleux

Exhibition Le Monde Premier

Western New Guinea (Triton Jaya)

XXᵉ century

Rare and spectacular ceremonial chest adornment from the Triton Jaya region of Western New Guinea, collected by Belgian explorer and ethnologist Jean-Pierre Dutilleux during his field missions among the first peoples.

This remarkable composition combines several materials traditionally considered precious in New Guinea societies: carefully polished wild pig tusks, cowrie shells, a large plate of iridescent mother-of-pearl and a tuft of natural fibers and animal hair. The whole is mounted on a braided structure covered with dark brown plant fibers and embellished with a long suspension system decorated with shells.

By its visual balance and the quality of its execution, this ornament is a powerful symbol of prestige. Pig tusks, particularly sought-after in the ceremonial exchange systems of New Guinea, evoke wealth, social status and the wearer's ability to participate in major community ceremonies.

This piece is reproduced in the reference work devoted to the First Peoples explored by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux, testifying to its ethnographic and documentary importance.

Presented at the Le Monde Premier exhibition, it benefits from the prestigious provenance of the Jean-Pierre Dutilleux Collection, an ensemble now recognized as one of the most important private testimonies devoted to the indigenous peoples of Amazonia, Papua and East Africa.

Provenance:

• Collection Jean-Pierre Dutilleux
• Exhibition Le Monde Premier
• Reproduced in the book Les Peuples Premiers / The First People