Between 1820 and 1850, a master artist from Tonga created this magnificent breastplate for a leader in neighboring Fiji. The distinctive technique he used to seamlessly join the different sections of this work together mirror those used to create canoes and tell us the artist likely began his career as a canoe maker. The man who created this work also created at least a dozen other breastplates, each of which features delicately carved ivory symbols embedded in mother-of-pearl shell. Tongan artists were known for their skill in carving sperm whale ivory and were sought after by members of the Fijian elite.