Aboriginality Authentication - maireener shells and others

CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO GO TO SOURCE1. Gallery Cat # 4 AM 1881/04, Unknown, Shell Necklace – Ricies & oaties shells, threaded 1420mm Long

2. Gallery Cat #7 AM 2384/05, Unknown, Aboriginal Shell Necklace c. 1850 – Blue maireneer shells, threaded 1200mm Long ... From an estate. Possibly 150 years old.
3. Gallery Cat #6 AM 2398/05, Unknown Shell Necklace c. 1870 – Bung's rice shells, small oat shells & striped helmet shells, threaded on cotton 430mm Long
4. Gallery Cat # 3 AM 1879/04, Unknown, Shell Necklace – White oaties, threaded 1700mm Long
5. Gallery Cat # 5 AM 1883/04, Unknown, Shell Necklace – Oaties & ricies shells, threaded 860mm Long
6. Gallery Cat # 2 AM 470/02, Unknown, Shell Necklace – Alternating sets of creamy elongated shells and ricies 1200mm Long ... An older necklace. String segments showing.

LINK TO THE GALLERY & PAGE

Aboriginality Authentication: The 'Art Mob Gallery' on Hobart's waterfront in Tasmania is possibly unique in Australia in that it is a gallery dealing in antique and vintage Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklaces. Furthermore, they take great care in provenancing their necklaces. Somehow Art Mob seems to manage to have a number of old necklaces in stock and those above are in their current stock.

There will be antique dealers all over who will have 'Tasmanian' shell necklaces as do the various sellers on eBAY. In Tasmania, there has been an assumption, and for all intentions purposes it has seemed a relatively safe assumption, that shell necklaces that looked like the Tasmanian Aboriginal people's necklaces were as they appeared. It now seems that it is quite apparent that it may not always be so. That's especially so given the numbers that are turning up on eBAY.

There are a number of galleries in Tasmania, including Art Mob, selling shell necklaces made by contemporary makers in Tasmania's Aboriginal community. There is no doubt about their authenticity – and there should be none. Indeed, it is evident that the prices that their necklaces currently command is most likely behind the interest in ' Tasmanian shell necklaces' on eBAY – and quite likely it is why many sellers aim to invoke Aboriginal authenticity too.

In Tasmania there are two major museums and art galleries – the TMAG & the QVMAG – both of which have important collections of Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklaces. Also the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia hold significant Tasmania Aboriginal shell necklaces in their collections as do many other State capital city museums and art galleries.