Oceania
Marquesas Islands
Ornament, Ivi Po'o
Bone
H. 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm)
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection
Indiana University Art Museum, 79.79.1

Used singly or in pairs and often in combination with seeds, these were ornamental toggles for fiber cords used on objects such as drums and shell trumpets and as slings for household objects such as coconut containers. They were also worn as hair ornaments. The miniature figures show the goggle eyes, flaring nostrils, and broad mouth that characterize Marquesan figural arts.