Title
Necklace
Year/Period
19th century
Region
North Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: 39.0 x 6.9 x 2.3 cm
Accession No.
2002-00573
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. Edmond Chin
This is a brass chain necklace with a stylized pendant featuring the ‘singa’, a mythical creature believed by the Batak people to have supernatural powers. The singa pendant was worn to ward off evil as it was believed to have protective powers. Jewellery has many different functions in island Southeast Asia, for example it was used to indicate social positions, to symbolise the importance of the social relationship between the giver and the receiver during gift exchanges, and to serve as miniature religious objects.
