Mendi Bailer Shell Currency And Decoration
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:41079 | Original/Reproduction: Original |
This shell has a bit of provenance. It is extremely large at 9x7” and was used in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea as a bride’s price for marriage, a pectoral ornament, and in dire emergency, to bail out water from a sinking canoe...hence the term ‘bailer’.
There are several of these unusual shells on the market but this one comes from the personal collection of Mr. Lloyd Morain. Under Wikipedia he is described as a businessman, philanthropist, writer, environment...alist, art collector and film producer. He was also a fortune-teller to famous silent screen actors from the 1930’s...but that is another story.in the early to mid-1950’s, Mr. Morain and his wife, Mary, found themselves at Port Moresby on several occasions, hiring local guides and traversing the Sepik River by canoe. This was long before the tourists discovered this remote corner of the world. They stopped at small local villages and bartered for artifacts depicting the locals’ lifestyles. Wikipedia goes on to note, “He [Mr. Morain] had an extensive collection of sculptures, carvings, paintings and furniture acquired through his worldwide travels particularly in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.”After spending many nights as a guest at his Carmel, California home, I was accustomed to viewing his vast collection and listening to his endless stories of grand adventures. I never tired of hearing them.
When Lloyd Morain passed away in 2010 at 93, I wrote a tribute to him that was published in the Nov-Dec 2010 issue of the Humanist Magazine. I have included a photo of Mr. Morain taken in Carmel a year before his death.A similar shell was noted in the exhibition “The Art of Papouans” at the Museum ‘La Charity’ In Marseille, France. This shell shows decades of use and is easily over 70 years of age. It was part of the tribal lore and passed to Mr. Morain long before the tourist trade began.
It is unique. If you are fortunate enough to acquire it, I hope you will give it a good home.
There are several of these unusual shells on the market but this one comes from the personal collection of Mr. Lloyd Morain. Under Wikipedia he is described as a businessman, philanthropist, writer, environment...alist, art collector and film producer. He was also a fortune-teller to famous silent screen actors from the 1930’s...but that is another story.in the early to mid-1950’s, Mr. Morain and his wife, Mary, found themselves at Port Moresby on several occasions, hiring local guides and traversing the Sepik River by canoe. This was long before the tourists discovered this remote corner of the world. They stopped at small local villages and bartered for artifacts depicting the locals’ lifestyles. Wikipedia goes on to note, “He [Mr. Morain] had an extensive collection of sculptures, carvings, paintings and furniture acquired through his worldwide travels particularly in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.”After spending many nights as a guest at his Carmel, California home, I was accustomed to viewing his vast collection and listening to his endless stories of grand adventures. I never tired of hearing them.
When Lloyd Morain passed away in 2010 at 93, I wrote a tribute to him that was published in the Nov-Dec 2010 issue of the Humanist Magazine. I have included a photo of Mr. Morain taken in Carmel a year before his death.A similar shell was noted in the exhibition “The Art of Papouans” at the Museum ‘La Charity’ In Marseille, France. This shell shows decades of use and is easily over 70 years of age. It was part of the tribal lore and passed to Mr. Morain long before the tourist trade began.
It is unique. If you are fortunate enough to acquire it, I hope you will give it a good home.
