Humphrey Nos. 264 to 270: ‘Seven fish-hooks of various Shapes
and sizes, made of Mother o’pearl, from ditto [Society Isles].’
Humphrey No. 271: ‘another [fish-hook] with a wooden float to it
from ditto [Society Isles].’ Of the group of the Humphrey Nos.
264-270, only six and not seven specimens are still held in the
Göttingen Collection. Furthermore, fish-hook Oz 390 has been
lost, so that only six fish-hooks of the same type are grouped
together here. The fish-hooks are simple examples made from a
piece of mother-of-pearl with a more or less rounded-off
rectangular cross-section. According to Kaeppler (1978b: 119),
the mother-of-pearl material comes from the shell of Meleagrina
margaritifera. In each case, one side of the fish-hook is a
glossy white, while the other side shimmers more darkly,
attaining a dark-brown shade. All the specimens have a support
at the upper end of the shank where strings made of various
plant fibres are attached. In Oz 382 (=Humphrey No. 271), a
string lashing leads to a small piec