This earring represents a fraction of the wide repertoire of silver jewellery made, worn and exchanged by highland communities in northern Thailand, which include the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu and Yao. This bent-arrow type earring was worn by the Hmong, Yao and Lahu.For many highland communities, silver was valued more highly than gold. Silver jewellery was a way of investing a family’s wealth to be passed down as heirlooms. It was also believed to have protective properties. Today, where security maybe a problem, silver is kept locked away while aluminium is used as a substitute.The Karen, Akha, Lisu, Lahu, Hmong, and Yao are six ethnic minority groups who migrated into Northern Thailand from Burma, Laos and Vietnam during the 18th and 19th centuries.
