Acrylic Bilum (Net Bag)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 7 Nov 2019
label: Collection Date
content: 22 Jun 2011
name: label: Collector
content: Dr Barbara Andersen
notes: label: Notes
content: Large bilum (bag) made of acrylic yarn. Green with magenta, brown, black and white vertical stepped pattern. Single handle with pompoms at top. Donor notes: Maker, Vicki Sire. Cost: K50. This bilum is a large “half kundu” handbag bilum, which according to Vicki is a recent variation on the older “kundu” pattern. At the time of acquisition this was a very popular style in Goroka. The kundu is a traditional drum shape and a very familiar national symbol; in this design the “kundu” shape is halved both lengthwise and widthwise and then repeated, creating a sawtooth effect. (Other informants have described this pattern to me as “bun bilong fish” [fish bone] or “razor blade”; names of bilum styles are not always exclusive and frequently unknown.) The bilum is made of store-bought acrylic yarn in six colors: magenta, eggplant, olive green, lime green, cream, and brown. Attached to the outside centre of the handle are four tasseled flaua (pompoms) in lime green, brown, eggplant, and cream. During ordinary use these tassels would sit on the shoulder or head of the wearer.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 22 Aug 2019
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Gahuku
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2077517
label: USNM Number
content: E435195-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bag
physicalDescription: label: Length - From Mouth To Base
content: 33 cm
label: Width - At Base
content: 56 cm
label: Length - Handle
content: 52.1 cm