Sacred Jet Stone Set from Kurelu's Funeral

A Sacred jet stone set special made Nets and shell money belt,…
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A Sacred jet stone set special made Nets and shell money belt, collected by Todd Barlin after the funeral of the famous warrior Kurelu in 1988. Up to 20,000 Dani, Yali and Lani people came to his funeral. This sacred Je stone bundle was exchanged among the important men who came to Kurelu's funeral and exchange. It is a complete set from Kurelu's funeral with the original woven nets called 'Su' that the most important sacred stones must be presented on. Only the largest and most scared Wusu or Je oak stones are used for important men's funerals. When the stones are laid out for exchange they have a Cowrie shell belt 'Jetalik ' draped over them. The field photos taken by Todd Barlin during the mourning period and stone exchanges that went on for weeks after the funeral, another Je stone set purchased that day are now in the Musee du Quai Branly collection in Paris *See attached field Photos, Copyright Todd Barlin and the South Australian Museum 45 - 60 cm

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  • Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.

    Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,

    Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.

    Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.

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