Papua New Guinea Kina Shell Necklace. 

Condition: Splitting. 

Size: 6 1/2 x 9 in.

Kina shell necklaces, traditionally crafted in Papua New Guinea and parts of Melanesia, hold deep cultural and economic significance as symbols of wealth, status, and social exchange. Made from the pearly inner shell of the gold-lipped pearl oyster, the circular kina discs are polished to a soft luster and strung in intricate arrangements, often combined with fiber, beads, or other natural materials. Historically, these necklaces served as a form of currency and were central to ceremonial exchanges such as bride price, initiation rites, and peace offerings. Their shimmering surfaces not only signified beauty and prosperity but also carried ancestral and spiritual meaning, linking the wearer to both community and tradition in the islands’ complex systems of trade and kinship.

Splitting. 

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