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Image Not Available for Marieneer shell and Toothie shell necklace
Marieneer shell and Toothie shell necklace
Image Not Available for Marieneer shell and Toothie shell necklace

Marieneer shell and Toothie shell necklace

Maker (1932-2001)
Date1998
Object number00030304
NameNecklace
MediumShell, cotton/nylon, marieneer shell and toothie shell necklace
DimensionsOverall: 840 x 12 mm, 0.06 kg
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionMarieneer and Toothie shell necklace made by Joan Brown, Cape Barren, Tasmania. SignificanceJoan Brown was a member of the Aboriginal community on Cape Barren and continued the long tradition of collecting tiny shells to string into necklaces.

Nowadays, pollution, over-collecting and fishing activities mean that the maireener shells – especially the larger ones – are becoming increasingly hard to find. Palawa shellwork, which was widely collected from the 19th century as curios and souvenirs – once an unknown part of community sustenance and survival – has, since the 1990s, been much sought after by collectors and institutions around the world as a contemporary cultural practice, assisting Palawa women to maintain this particular important cultural practice.