Guide to artifacts Solomon Islands jewelry Shell disk ornaments overlaid with filigree turtleshell are typical of the Solomon Islands. Dala kapkap still worn as a head or breast ornament on Malaita and Guadalcanal. The intricate overlay design is cut by hand.
All photographs courtesy of a private collection.
Large Tridacna clamshells and other shells are used as a base. Santa Cruz tema kapkap is a full-moon style breast ornament worn at dances. The overlay motif is usually said to represent the distinctive stark outline of a frigate bird, but other interpretations are an ancestor depicted with spine and ribs or a caterpillar that infects banana plants. Frigate birds and hornbills dating from about 3000 b.p. are shown in petroglyphs in the Poha Valley cave near Honiara. Dafi pearl shell gorget with frigate bird overlay from Malaita Island.