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 a formal schema of stylized human figures and faces. This example features stacked registers of humanlike figures with bent and linked arms suggestive of the poses adopted in group dances. Circular motifs, such as that seen at the base of this work, are common and likely to present shell rings, also made from the dense, hard shell of the giant clam, which served as currency and prestige objects due to their durability.