Any info???

[schelljordan]

Just curious if anyone has any information on this piece. It has 79 Nederlandsch Indie coins from early 40's, and what looks to be pieces in-between the coins made from bone marrow.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

im no help to you but let me bump this for you

 

[ringo865]

I have no idea, but this is a very interesting looking piece. How did you find it?

 

[VRBeauty]

You probably know as much as there is to know about this necklace! If you’d like some pure speculation, however, here goes…

The age of the coins pretty much rules out the possibly that this was used for trade. I’m pretty sure that the coins themselves, rather than jewelry made with coins would be the currency of choice by the mid-1900’s. Also, the coins with holes in them were low denomination - think one-and five-cent pieces, so a necklace using them would not be a valuable necklace for trade purposes. (The coins were more valuable as scrap during and after WWII, and invalid as currency after 1951. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/His...=As a result, during the,1000 of the old unit.)

The coins would have been minted by the Dutch government for use in Indonesia, which was still a Dutch colony in the ‘40’s. Indonesia does have several jewelry and especially silver-smithing centers - notably Bali and JogJakarta. However, most of the Indonesian jewelry I’ve seen has more delicate and finely crafted designs. I’ve seen the double spiral motif on the pendant more often in jewelry from Africa. I’ve also seen that straw-like cord used in jewelry made in Africa.

Are you sure the beads are bone? (they wouldn’t be bone marrow -that’s the soft center of the bone). Incising or imprinting those little circles on bone - or horn or stone, for that matter - would be very time-consuming! Which makes me think the beads are more likely clay or ceramic made to look like old beads, but I could be totally off-base there!

So here’s my totally uneducated guess: your necklace is a decorative piece, possibly made for the tourist trade. It’s hard to tell where it was made, but it’s possible it was made somewhere other than Indonesia… using Indonesian coins simply because they were available and inexpensive.

All of which should be taken with several grains of salt!

 

[schelljordan]

You probably know as much as there is to know about this necklace! If you’d like some pure speculation, however, here goes…

The age of the coins pretty much rules out the possibly that this was used for trade. I’m pretty sure that the coins themselves, rather than jewelry made with coins would be the currency of choice by the mid-1900’s. Also, the coins with holes in them were low denomination - think one-and five-cent pieces, so a necklace using them would not be a valuable necklace for trade purposes. (The coins were more valuable as scrap during and after WWII, and invalid as currency after 1951. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Indonesian_rupiah#:~:text=As a result, during the,1000 of the old unit.)

The coins would have been minted by the Dutch government for use in Indonesia, which was still a Dutch colony in the ‘40’s. Indonesia does have several jewelry and especially silver-smithing centers - notably Bali and JogJakarta. However, most of the Indonesian jewelry I’ve seen has more delicate and finely crafted designs. I’ve seen the double spiral motif on the pendant more often in jewelry from Africa. I’ve also seen that straw-like cord used in jewelry made in Africa.

Are you sure the beads are bone? (they wouldn’t be bone marrow -that’s the soft center of the bone). Incising or imprinting those little circles on bone - or horn or stone, for that matter - would be very time-consuming! Which makes me think the beads are more likely clay or ceramic made to look like old beads, but I could be totally off-base there!

So here’s my totally uneducated guess: your necklace is a decorative piece, possibly made for the tourist trade. It’s hard to tell where it was made, but it’s possible it was made somewhere other than Indonesia… using Indonesian coins simply because they were available and inexpensive.

All of which should be taken with several grains of salt!

Thank you for your insight, I truly appreciate it

 

[schelljordan]

I have no idea, but this is a very interesting looking piece. How did you find it?

Wierd story, it came in a lot full landscaping equipment i bought at an Auction.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Wierd story, it came in a lot full landscaping equipment i bought at an Auction.

well thats pretty cool then

 

[VRBeauty]

Wierd story, it came in a lot full landscaping equipment i bought at an Auction.

Another thought - even more speculative than before and bordering on fantastical, really.

The shape of the pendant is reminiscent of a bullet. Is there any possibility it is made from a bullet shell? I’m wondering whether it might have been crafted in Indonesia during the war or the rather difficult independence period that followed the war, using the materials that were at hand. Perhaps it’s a very personal bitter reminder of that difficult period. (Actually my next first thought is whether it might have been made in one of the many prisoner-of-war camps the Japanese had on the Indonesian islands. But the camps were not exactly summer camps with recreational activities, and it’s hard to imagine prisoners having the materials needed to craft something like that. Still…. And if anyone uses this premise for a screen play, I want a cut!
https://www.indischekamparchieven.n... 1943 to February,in October 1942, in Batavia. Batavia was the Dutch name for what is now called Jakarta - the capital of Indonesia.)

But as I said… pure fantasy.

(Afterword: apparently there were camps housing civilians that weren’t as brutal as those that held combatants. So…? Anyhow, there is a group called Far East Prisoners of War - FEPOW - that archives information and memories related to the POW camps: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064573366208)