Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Sepik River region, ca. 19th to mid-20th century CE. A pair of traditional headbands; one made from cotton cloth and knotted cords around 26 porcelain and 6 canine teeth from dogs, and the other is a broad panel with attachment straps, woven from vegetal fibers and covered in dozens of natural canine teeth and shells. The larger panel is a headband and the other may be a headband or even a necklace, and both adornments denoted social rank, sanctity, and wealth of the people who wore them. European colonizers saw how important these teeth were and produced glass and porcelain replicas to trade, which were accepted by the indigenous people and incorporated into their ornaments, often mixed with real teeth, as used in the necklace strand here! The fact that the larger panel is entirely real dog teeth is impressive since only the 4 front canines were used - meaning approximately 2 dozen dogs were used. Size (wider panel): 17" L x 5" W (43.2 cm x 12.7 cm); (case): 12.125" L x 8.25" W (30.8 cm x 21 cm) Provenance: ex-Sally Snell collection, bequeathed by her uncle Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010 All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping. #173059