Mount Hagen, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
Accession Date:
7 Nov 2019
Collection Date:
6 Apr 2012
Notes:
Large bilum (bag) made of nylon string, loosely looped for openwork effect. Horizontal stripes in rainbow colors, single handle. Donor notes: Maker, Agnes. Cost: K10. A bilum constructed from eight colors of nylon string which have been chained together to produce a crochet-like effect. The colors are dark blue, light blue, magenta, red, orange, yellow, light green, dark green, horizontally striped in a rainbow-like sequence. The short handle is worked in dark green, light green, yellow, and orange, using a strongly reinforced version of the basic figure-8 looping stitch. The mouth is reinforced with a double chain of closing loops in green. “String” bilums made of nylon are commonly used for transporting fresh market produce, as they can be uncomfortable for everyday wear. Those with large loops such as this one can be made relatively quickly compared with acrylic and bush rope bilums, as the string does not need to be plied; however, the string becomes knotted easily during the looping process and many women find working with nylon frustrating. This bilum was purchased at the Mount Hagen main market.
