INDONESIA: Western New Guinea, de glass ring (96.43g), Opitz p.129, 121 x 115mm, a very old example used in western and central New Guinea as bride price, VF, ex Charles Opitz Collection. According to legends, a deity named Ahdai created men and gave them rings so that they could use them to buy wives. With two of the rings, one may buy the head of a woman; with two smaller glass beads, one may buy her breasts; and with a larger bead, one may buy her future labor pains so that she would bear him children. To this day, the men of the tribe must still buy their wives with two rings, two small beads, and a large bead.
Estimate: $150-250