Douglas Stewart Fine Books Pty Ltd

Single strand of maireener shells strung on cotton, with bone clasp, c 1920; complete length 520 mm. In Palawa tradition the making of shell necklaces has always been the domain of women, and the collecting, stringing and presentation of maireener shells is a very significant part of Palawa culture. From as early as the 1870s, maireener shell necklaces – based on the traditional Palawa practice - were also manufactured and sold by non-indigenous people, in particular by the family business of Mary Maria Martin. This enterprise was founded in 1875 and operated in Hobart – and also for some time in Honolulu – until after Mary’s death in 1924. Due to its relatively short length, the fact that it is strung on cotton and the type of clasp used, this necklace is most likely of non-indigenous origin and is a strong candidate for being an extremely pretty example from the workshop of M.M. Martin. We acknowledge the Tasmanian Shell Necklace Research Project ( http://tasmanianshellnecklaceresearch.blogspot.com/ ) for the scholarly information in this listing.