Boatswain’s Call from the Wreck of the Dutch East India Company Ship Witte Leeuw
This pendant is not just an ornament: hold it upside down and the pointed tail becomes a toothpick. The adjacent boatswain’s call was worn by officers on a long cord as a symbol of their leadership. Men in the 16th and 17th centuries wore this kind of practical item also as a sign of wealth, class, and dignity.