Tanimbar Islands
south Moluccas, Indonesia  

Crescent headdress or breast ornament [masa] 19th century or earlier
gold
10.6 (h) x 18.0 (w) cm
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
Gift of Mr Edmond Chin

Crescent-shaped ornaments have been popular for millennia in Southeast Asia, yet within the form there is great variation. This 9th or 10th century Javanese gold ornament may have functioned as a neck pendant. It displays tree-like motifs with spiralling foliage extending into the ends of the crescent.