Ceremonial vest with shells

This vest comes from the Maloh people in West Kalimantan, Borneo. It is decorated with small cowrie shells, and with attached brass bells at the hem. Ornaments applied to the garments of the Maloh people include precious heirlooms as well as foreign curiosities such as beads, Dutch coins and brass bells. The garments sometimes depict iconography of human figures which represent ancestor spirits.