Oceania
Marquesas Islands
Coronet, Paekaha
Turtle shell, conch shell, fiber
H. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection
Indiana University Art Museum, 69.123

High-ranking men and women wore the paekaha as a sign of status. It was not owned by an individual, but was worn by various family members on different occasions and was passed down through generations as an heirloom. Like the Wielgus Marquesan headband, it emphasized the head, the most sacred part of the body.