ETHOC 021835

diadème pa’e kaha

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021835
Pa'e kaha diadem
French Polynesia, Marquesas Islands
Early 20th century
Turtle shell, tridacna, cowry, plant fibre, tapa. W 80 cm
Long-term loan by Eugène Pittard in 1948; given by his son Jean-Jacques in 1966
MEG Inv. ETHOC 021835
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Pa'e kaha were family possessions which were passed on from generation to generation and worn mainly by chiefs, warriors and dancers. There is some discussion over the way they were worn, with the plaques facing down or pointing upwards like a crown. Nineteenth-century descriptions suggest that the plaques faced downwards.

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French Polynesia

French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic, is composed of about 118 volcanic or coral islands, grouped in five archipelagos: the Society Islands, the Marquesas Islands, the Austral Islands, the Gambier Islands and the Tuamotu Islands.

Despite their political ties to France, the people of these archipelagos have and express a strong sense of their Polynesian identity.

Signs of rank, power and prestige

Works from this part of the world give us the opportunity to address the issues of power and prestige and show the communicative capacity of art. Ornamental objects such as jewellery and accessories, as well as weapons, can become status symbols and reveal the codes that distinguish human beings, signalling the gender, age group and rank of the wearer.

Bibliograpy

  • Musée d'ethnographie. 1949. La parure dans le monde. Genève : Musée d'ethnographie, P. 22-23 et pl. 13, MEG Carl-Vogt, ME 1268
  • Handy, Willowdean Chatterson. 1938. L'art des Iles Marquises. Paris : Les Ed. d'art et d'histoire, Pl. VIII B, MEG Carl-Vogt, OC 120

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