Le collane degli Ainu nella raccolta di Fosco Maraini al Museo di Antropologia di Firenze

Abstract

Twenty years after the death of the great Florentine traveller Fosco Maraini (1912-2004) the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology of the University of Florence reordered the material of his 1939-41 collection among the Ainu of Hokkaido. It is one of the most exhaustive collections of Ainu objects and constitutes a rare testimony of the culture of this indigenous people who for long populated Hokkaido, but suffered greatly under colonial suppression. This article presents a study of the traditional necklaces, characterised by a peculiar style, worn by Ainu women. The study was based on a detailed analysis of the necklaces in the Museum's collection integrated with information from Fosco Maraini's autographic notes and related bibliographic materials.