Dennis Nona

Skulls were the main trading currency used by the Torres Strait Islander people with their Papua New Guinean neighbours. These trading skulls were acquired in battle and through raiding parties to other islands and the Australian mainland. They were traded mainly for canoe hulls which could not be sourced on the islands. The skull depicted can be identified as one not coming from the artist’s Island of Badu. Torres Strait Islanders are able to make this differentiation and could identify which island a particular skull was from. The skulls were decorated with a beeswax nose, pearl shell eyes and adorned with fibre and beads to enhance their value.