Old Padung Padung Earrings

• Location- Sumatra, (Indonesia) 

• Age- We believe these to be early to mid 20th century. 

• An extraordinary pair of traditional Padung Padung earrings from the Karo Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia.

• Among the most recognizable forms of traditional Batak jewelry, Padung Padung are substantial ear ornaments characterized by their elongated, double-spiral design. Traditionally fashioned from thick metal wire, their sweeping curves resemble stylized ram's horns, a recurring motif in the traditional arts of Southeast Asia.

Padung Padung were traditionally worn by married Karo Batak women and carried symbolic meaning associated with marriage. The earrings were positioned in opposing directions, one pointing upward and the other downward, representing the ups and downs of married life. Due to their extraordinary weight, the ornaments were supported by a headband, headdress, or folded songket textile rather than resting entirely on the earlobes.

This impressive pair measures approximately 6 inches each in length, with each ornament weighing 225 grams.

A note on their construction and history:

Unlike many traditional examples, which feature removable sections allowing the ornaments to be inserted through the earlobes, these earrings currently have no functioning openings.

Upon close examination, we noticed subtle areas of discoloration in the metal, approximately 4mm wide, in locations consistent with where removable sections would traditionally have been positioned.

Our theory is that these earrings may originally have featured removable sections that were subsequently soldered closed and carefully polished, leaving only faint traces of the alterations. However, we cannot confirm whether these openings originally existed, when such modifications may have occurred, or why they were made. These earrings were also made in some instances with no removable opening and were inserted into someone's ear and permanently closed and finished while being worn.