Title
Set of frontal discs
Year/Period
Late 19th-early 20th century
Region
Timor, Lesser Sunda Islands
Dimension
refer to parts
Accession No.
2002-00552
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. Edmond Chin
This is a set of silver frontal discs with various crescent moon, star or sun designs in repoussé. These discs could be once a headhunting emblem presented to returning warriors by the local aristocrats. Men wore headtaking discs as badges of prestige and bravery. In Timor, heads replenished village fertility and prosperity and headhunting was a basic feature of Timor political life in pre-modern times. However, women may wear the pectoral discs at the ritual after they have given birth, for childbirth is likened to warfare. Such ornamental discs were typical of ornaments of the eastern islands of Indonesia.
