Man's symbolic pendant (mendaka)
- DATE:
- late 19th century or earlier
- MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE:
- Gold
- CLASSIFICATION:
- Jewelry
- DIMENSIONS:
- 3 × 3 1/8 × 5/8 in. (7.62 × 7.94 × 1.59 cm)
- DEPARTMENT:
- Arts of the Pacific Islands
- LOCATION:
- Arts of the Pacific Islands - Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Level 3
- CREDIT LINE:
- Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Nasher Foundation in honor of Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher
- OBJECT NUMBER:
- 2008.64
General Description
The pendant called mendaka is a symbol of rank, prestige, and power. Its cleft-oval shape implies that is was used as an ear ornament. The Sundanese interpret the organic form as a winged snake-dragon or serpent. The mendaka is found only in West Sumba. A raja once told of receiving this pendant as a gift from his wife’s father before their marriage, as an incentive to marry her.
Excerpt from
Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, 2013.