Kavel 754

A pair of Dayak solid brass pendant ear ornaments, Kenyah/Kayan Dayak People, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, early 20th century -l. 7,3cm, combined weight 396 grams- Earrings of this size and weight would have been reserved for a person of great prestige. They would have been used to stretch the ear lobes to a remarkable length. Thereafter, great care was needed to prevent the ear lobe from breaking. Women tended to stretch their ear lobes much more than men: it was considered effeminate for a Dayak man to have lobes stretched beyond the shoulders. Today, the practice of elongating the earlobes has largely died out among the Dayaks. See Rodgers (1995, p. 280) and Carpenter (2011, p. 155) for related pairs. Literature: Carpenter, B., Ethnic Jewellery from Indonesia: Continuity and Evolution, Editions Didier Millet, 2011. Rodgers, S., Power and Gold: Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, The Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva, 3rd ed. 1995.