Bracelet, late 19th–early 20th century
Nauruan people, Nauru, Caroline Islands
Fiber, coral beads, traces of feathers
Technical Glossary
Nauruan people, Nauru, Caroline Islands
Fiber, coral beads, traces of feathers
Diam. 2 in. (5.1 cm)
Gift of the American Friends of the Israel Museum, 1983 (1983.545.26)
As among other Micronesian peoples, women on Nauru excelled in the fiber arts, creating a diversity of beautifully plaited ornaments and accessories. Possibly intended for a child, this small bracelet, only two inches in diameter, is remarkable for the fineness and detail of its decorative plaitwork, executed in alternating strips of plain and dyed black fiber woven together to create a rhythmical geometric design. The bracelet is further adorned with pink coral beads that were originally accented with small bundles of feathers, only traces of which remain.
