Arm ring for the upper arm made from shell material (trochus) with fine incised ornamentation. Arm rings were worn by men and women, often in several layers. European merchants recognised the intrinsic value of these arm rings as merchandise and began to trade in them. In addition, porcelain rings from Europe had already been introduced to the islands of the Bismarck Archipelago during the 19th century and had effectively displaced local production.The object comes from the Robert Beirer collection from Sipplingen, who worked as a stores assistant for the German New Guinea Company at the end of the 19th century and sold a large collection to the Museum für Natur- und Völkerkunde in Freiburg.