Book review : Sinuous objects : revaluing women’s wealth in the contemporary Pacific

Abstract

A collection of chapters sharing ethnographic research of women’s wealth-building activities in the Pacific islands, Sinuous objects measures up to its title. Its editors, Hermkens and Lepani, have woven together a volume of fresh approaches to theorising social value attachment to material objects. The objects considered include those of adornment, art, everyday use items such as bowls, ritual objects and traded goods. An intriguing contribution of the volume is how each of the authors engages a historical approach towards the transformation of the social value of objects produced in the Pacific.