A pair of Naga rock crystal earrings, Nagaland, North East India, late 19th-early 20th century, each approx. 5cm. diam x 3.8cm. high (2) Nagaland, the smallest of Indian states, is located in North East India, bordering Burma. Its inhabitants are...

A pair of Naga rock crystal earrings, Nagaland, North East India, late 19th-early 20th century, each approx. 5cm. diam x 3.8cm. high (2) Nagaland, the smallest of Indian states, is located in North East India, bordering Burma. Its inhabitants are aboriginal tribes whose distinct culture has persisted for thousands of years. Their culture is free of Hindu influence, instead it is animistic, meaning objects, plants or animals possess energy or soul. Once significance is ascribed to worn materials they become important power objects. Rock crystal earrings are worn by women of the Ao and Tangkhul tribes. They are typically round cornered squares, rectangles or circles with a central round hole from which a slot extends to one outer edge. To wear them, the bottom of a stretched earlobe with a large enough hole is forced through the slot into the central hole and the slot is turned downward so the earlobe supports it.