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This is an interesting necklace from a couple of perspectives. Firstly, it is typical of the ambiguous necklaces described as Hobart Necklaces and it almost equally could have made on the Furneax Islands by Tasmanian Aboriginal women. It is clearly Tasmaniana but given that so many of these necklaces are now appearing on the market the veracity of the claims of Aboriginal authenticity is open to challenge.Many of these necklaces were dyed with aniline dyes and the older examples seemed to have been dyed more subtly/cleverly than those that have turned up and made post WW2. This necklace could well be an example of the older dyed Hobart Necklaces reported on by E. Mawle in 1918. It would be necessary to do a physical chemical test to verify that this necklace had been dyed.
1 comment:
I agree it's difficult to tell which necklaces are dyed, especially if it is a 'better' job. I contacted the seller of this particular necklace to ask what size the shells are. He said they average 6 to 6.5 mm in length. This could be the species irisodontes, which would actually be that green. The very gradual trend of the green color to the white tips of the shells might be impossible to duplicate with each shell if they are dyed.
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