A Collection of Primitive Money

Miscellaneous, Africa, large decorated copper ring; cowrie shell ring; pierced quartz disc; bean necklace; a corn bead necklace; a small tortoise shell; a wooden comb; and group of fine seven animal teeth; a strip of plain cloth, and a rock of salt. (£30-40)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Primitive Money.

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Collection

These various artifacts were attributed by Lawrence to the following areas and peoples: copper ring to the Congo region; the cowrie ring to the Swahili and Chikunda; the pireced stone disc to the Gold Coast and Togo; the bean necklace (the seed of the “Lucky Bean Tree”) to the Zulus and Swazis of southern Africa; the corn bead necklace to the Swazis; the tortoise shell to to Swahili, Kikuyu and Masai of east Africa; and the wooden comb to the Bukusu of Kenya; and the teeth to North America. The cloth and rock of salt were included in the Lawrence collection as examples of trade goods in Africa and elsewhere.