View Single Post
Old 19th August 2013, 04:16 PM   #4
Sajen
Member
 
Sajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,550
Default

When the yellow material is indeed some sort of plastic I wouldn't mind when I am you. I have two salawaku (shields from Halmahera) in my collection where the inlays worked from plastic, both have a very nice using patina. Keep in mind that tribals have a different way of seeing the use of plastic. I have seen by a friend who deal with New Guinea artefacts a lot of contemporary items where was used plastic of different sort. Tribals use what they found and what seems useful for them. Nylon strings for example are much stronger and much more long living as natural materials so it would be in the eyes of a tribal absurd not using this material. It is the same with Moro gunongs from WW II times where are used aluminium. OK, in the eyes of a collector it may not look appealing but make the use of "modern" materials items non ethnograhic?

Regards,

Detlef
Sajen is online now   Reply With Quote