Ainu. <em>Woman's Necklace</em>, late 19th–early 20th century. Brass, different kinds of beads, metal wire, and cotton ribbon, 11 1/8 × 1 5/8 × 15 1/2 in. (28.3 × 4.1 × 39.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Herman Stutzer, 12.738. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.738_PS11.jpg)

Ainu. Woman's Necklace, late 19th–early 20th century. Brass, different kinds of beads, metal wire, and cotton ribbon, 11 1/8 × 1 5/8 × 15 1/2 in. (28.3 × 4.1 × 39.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Herman Stutzer, 12.738. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.738_PS11.jpg)

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Are there photos of Ainu people adorned with similar necklaces?

I can't send you an image, but there are a number of photographs both online and in publications that show Ainu women wearing these necklaces from the late nineteenth century.

Thanks.

¿Son adornos de mujer? ¿De qué están hechos?

Sí, es un collar para una mujer. Está hecho de latón, cuentas de vidrio, alambre metálico y algodón. Habría sido usado en una ocasión ceremonial.

How do these fit the theme of the exhibition "Infinite Blue"?

Both of these necklaces are made with blue beads or stones and had special significance to those who wore them because of their color and/or material.

The example on the left is an Ainu necklace worn by women on formal occasions and displayed inside the home as treasured items. The use of glass beads was a marker of value as they were often imported and therefore more expensive.

This more modern Ainu design seems to incorporate some of what we think of as traditional Japanese patterns, such as the designs on the bottom in metal. Can you talk about this?

As you may know, the Ainu are an indigenous culture living in northern Japan, particularly the island of Hokkaido, and other locations in the region.

We think the metal disk was indeed adapted from a Japanese piece. It may be a re-purposed tsuba, a pommel from a sword hilt.

Woman's Necklace

Asian Art

Necklaces like this one were made by the Ainu people, who inhabited parts of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands before those areas were claimed by Japanese and Russian settlers. Ainu women wore these necklaces on formal occasions, and the necklaces were also displayed inside houses, alongside other treasured items. The origin of the glass beads may have contributed to the value of these items, as they were often imported from the southern islands of Japan or other foreign sources, traveling through extensive trade routes that linked the Ainu to distant communities in Manchuria and Sakhalin, among others.

CULTURE Ainu

MEDIUM Brass, different kinds of beads, metal wire, and cotton ribbon

Place Made: Northern region, Japan

DATES late 19th–early 20th century

DIMENSIONS 11 1/8 × 1 5/8 × 15 1/2 in. (28.3 × 4.1 × 39.4 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 12.738

CREDIT LINE Gift of Herman Stutzer

EXHIBITIONS

Infinite Blue

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Ainu. Woman's Necklace, late 19th–early 20th century. Brass, different kinds of beads, metal wire, and cotton ribbon, 11 1/8 × 1 5/8 × 15 1/2 in. (28.3 × 4.1 × 39.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Herman Stutzer, 12.738. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.738_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 12.738_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2016

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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