Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

The Solomon Islands are known for their remarkable traditions of shell inlay and production of ornate jewelry and personal adornment. Clam shell ornaments, such as this, are engraved and infilled with a black pigment, while other forms known as kapkap are clam shells overlain with turtle shell.

Worn on the head or the upper arm, this ulute is an excellent example of the form with outer rings of lines and circles and the depiction in the center of birds which is symmetrical in composition. The frigate birds depicted are common in the art of the Solomon Islands and are easily identifiable by their curved beaks and the “M” shape of their wings. These fishing birds have great significance in the Solomon Islands, as their fllight patterns indicate areas with large schools of fish and also attract sharks and other animals associated with the spirit world.