Cassandra Alonzo-1/6/09-references

As I have been contemplating ancient civilizations and their use of different types of currency, I kept on returning to the Aztec use of Cacao beans, the African use of Cowrie shells, the Celtic use of Kru money, and the Chinese use of Ingots. All of these have a common thread of having a deeper meaning than their monetary uses. These objects linked the different civilizations to their gods, and in some cases, such as the Kru money, the objects themselves confined the spirits.

Cacao Bean

Celtic Bronze Rings

Kru Money

Cowrie Shells

Stamped Beets

Silver Ingot

Bronze Rings

I have quite a few different ideas of how I want to portray my civilization's currency, however I do know that this currency is going to be sacred in that it represents their deities. I want to portray a currency that is very organic both in form and in pallate, and the heirarchy will be evident in the ranges of intricacy of the pieces. As the civilization that I am creating is very ancient, I was thinking of representing different types of bone that would be worth different amounts, or perhaps segments of wood that would be worth the amount of rings they have. As for the mode of transportation for this type of currency, I was thinking of different types of pouches that people from the different levels of society would have, ranging from simple to ornate.

The stamping on the silver ingots of China are interesting, as are the designs of the Kru money, and the organic quality of the cowrie shells, so I hope to incorporate all of these ideas into my own piece.