A large, and very fine kapkap worn only by the most important men. The turtle-shell overlay is cut-out to form a quatrefoil motif with dentate borders. Both the front and rear outer edge of the shell disc are engraved with a ring of triangles.

Admiralty Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, PNG, Melanesia. Turtle-shell (Eretmochelys : hawksbill turtle), Tridacna gigas, bush-string and candlenut soot. A native repair to the turtleshell. 19th century. 11,2 ø cm. Collected in the field by Charles & Régine van den Broek during the La Korrigane expedition of 1934-1936. Field collection number 1301 (file card missing) described as “ornement de cheveux, amirauté“ (information kindly supplied by Christian Coiffier, Musée du Quai Branly), Musée de l’Homme deposit inventory number D.39.3.1264 on outer edge of shell disc.

Ref. : Coiffier, Ch. (Ed.) : Le Voyage de LA KORRIGANE dans les Mers du Sud. Hazan, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, 2001.