Papua New Guinea, North-East Coast, Full Circle Boar Tusk (restored)

In much of Melanesia – a region comprising the four countries of Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea – the wealth of a family is measured in pigs. The more pigs it can afford to slaughter for a feast, the higher its prestige.

Pigs are both a currency and an investment asset. Boars bearing imposing tusks are the most valuable. The tusks themselves are a powerful status symbol, especially when round or, even better, spiral in form.