Wasekaseka (sperm whale tooth necklace)

About this item

Title

Wasekaseka (sperm whale tooth necklace)

Content partner

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Collection

Te Papa Collections Online

Description

WÀSEISEI, ALSO KNOWN AS WÀSEKASEKA   Wàseisei are necklaces made from slivers cut from Sperm Whale teeth. These elaborate, labour-intensive forms of bodily adornment were worn by Fijian chiefs in the mid-to late 1800s. Not only are they aesthetically beautiful, wàseisei are precious examples of Pacific Island creativity and craftsmanship.   History   Whales’ teeth are prized by Fijians and other Pacific peoples, Tongans and Samoans in particular. During the 19th century’s Pacific whaling ...

Read more

Format

Image

Date created

1800s

URL

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/188439

Related subjects

ivory / sennit / necklaces / Oceanic / Fijian / Whales / Fiji / William Ockleford Oldman

What is the copyright status of this item?

Creative Commons

This item appears to be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (BY-NC-ND) 4.0 CC International license.

More Information

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has this to say about the rights status of this item:

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

You can learn more about the rights status of this item at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

What can I do with this item?

You must always check with Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa to confirm the specific terms of use, but this is our understanding:

Non-infringing use

NZ Copyright law does not prevent every use of a copyright work. You should consider what you can and cannot do with a copyright work.

Share it

This item is suitable for copying and sharing with others, without further permission.

No modifying

You are not allowed to adapt or remix this item into any other works.

No commercial use

You may not use this item commercially.