Shell Plaque (Barava)

Intricate openwork plaques served as land ownership records for clans in the western Solomon Islands. Each barava was created from a single piece of the hard, semi-fossilized shell of the giant clam (Tridacna gigas(). Using only bow drills, abrasives and saws made from vines kept continuously coated with sand and water, artists managed to create astonishingly detailed designs, often depicting lines of descent, from the hard material. Historically barava were stored in sacred locations such as shrines and grave sites, serving as powerful boundary markers to delineate prohibited or sanctioned areas.

The imagery of barava varies widely. Some plaques have primarily geometric designs, but others, as here, include stylized human figures and faces. This fragmentary example features stacked rows of abstract faces, each motif flanked by circular rings, which may be a reference to the clam shell rings used as currency and prestige ornaments. The topmost register, though largely broken off, possibly once depicted the legs of a row of standing humanlike figures with bent knees suggestive of the poses adopted in group dances. The majority of barava that now survive in museum collections are fragmentary, making it challenging to interpret each design. It is generally understood that these items were broken intentionally on the grave of a deceased chief in their original contexts.