This is a carved bone hair ornament of the Naga headhunters, who lived in Assam in the 18th and 19th century. 6" long and made of bone. It is incised with mystical symbols and has a rich glossy patina from years of use. The Naga sometimes worked on colonial English tea plantations and practiced headhunting up to about 1900. The heads of children were particularly sought and proudly displayed, because they were the most difficult to obtain, being constantly protected by their parents.