Maireeners Without Provenance

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When questioned by one of this site's readers about this necklace's provenance the seller said "thank you for your question and comment. I gather you believe the shell necklace is not a necklace made by aboriginals, are you able to enlighten me as to who you think may have made a necklace like this and how would you derscribe authentic aboriginal? I have no authenticity or document, all I can state is what I put in my listing and what was relayed to me. The listing states vintage aboriginal shells, the word authentic is in the description and it was meant to refer that this is an aboriginal necklace made with authentic maireener shells. As you know they were made and sold in Tasmania by aboriginals to tourists for who knows how long. I have seen and had a number over the years of all different colours, everyone I know would automnatically identify this necklace as a maireener aboriginal necklace. I have seen the modern shell necklaces legally made by people of aboriginal descent with certicates and those hideous dyed maireener shells. On speaking with people I have found they prefer these older necklaces with their simple intrinsic uniform beauty over the modern day ones, even with a certicate and made by people of aboriginal descent. I have enjoyed your input and have applauded your comments, and would like to hear more in relation to what or what defines original and authentic in relation to these shells. Cheers"

Then the seller said in response to a reply "Thank you for your response. As stated thes shells were listed on the informatin that was supplied to me. I cannot state if shells were purchased in Launceston or Hobart - I was only told Tasmania. I did acquire the shells from a country womens association fete, the lady who was in her 70's stated they had been her grandmother's and told me they were aboriginal and purchased from an aboriginal seller in Tasmania. I have no problem with being challenged, in any way. Had I had any doubts I would have listed differently. In hindsight I should have left off the word authentic, it obviously was ambiguous by its implied meaning. I am in a quandary as to how anyone could have a certicate of authticity other than going to the Tasmanian Museum. No certificate was given when shells were sold to Tourists, it sppears to me that as it stands to state maireener shells are aboriginal made puts them as not authentic until proven otherwise. I believe the modern aboriginal legal makers of the necklaces give certificates, as so it should be. I know there are unscroupulous dealers out there who will try and cash in on anythging that money can be made out of. It would not surprisse me to see China suddenly producing these shell necklaces just to cash in."

All this smacks of the fast talking Sgt. Schultz and of childhood when you’re caught with your hand in the cookie jar and have not yet been told about George Washington chopping down his dad’s cherry tree.

Incrementally, inch by inch, understandings change even when you cannot admit to it and say it out loud. The most extraordinary thing is the way it is assumed that the only way to measure “value” is to do it in dollars. Yes its important that that is there but it is worth keeping an eye on WHY the value is there. Let’s blame the Chinese. From all accounts they always say – well usually unless its fashion – in some way that they are copying and if they did here they’d probably be farming the shells etc. etc. and like the HOBART NECKLACES they’d always have other cultural cargo. BUT its more profitable to be farming fresh water pearls one suspects!

Lets look again at what's currently on offer AND:

• Item number: 290628523922 is a TOTAL fiction albeit that the seller is in Nth Tas;
• Item number: 290652749980 is not making any unsustainable claims but has no bids?? And
• Item number: 190620202030 = is quite probably a HOBART NECKLACE of ambiguous vintage and reasonable value @ $228 which also tells us something about eBAY bidders in so much as they seem to be savvy enough NOT to reward shonky descriptions ... The market seems to be tops at about $500!

eBAY is an amazing place in so much as buyers can do and do their research on the Internet which sends out its own messages to sellers et al on the look out for uninhibited cultural understandings and imperatives on display.

Highly Unlikely To Be As Described

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This item is highly unlikely to be what it claims to be and possibly yet another exemplar of an online seller invoking 'the Aboriginal Factor' in order to win a premium. Well typically it doesn't work because buyers tend to do their research and know about the things they collect.

The lack of bids here says most of what needs to be said.

ON eBAY May 2011: "Antique Tasmanian Maireener Shell Aboriginal Necklace"

SELLER'S DESCRIPTION: Item N0. 380338511035

"Antique 1900s Tasmanian Maireener Shell Aboriginal Necklace Purple

This wonderful Guaranteed Antique 1900s Tasmanian Maireener Shell Aboriginal Necklace in the rare Purple Iridescent colour is a brilliant example of such shell necklaces. The shells are a wonderful lustrous iridescent purple colour and are in exquisite condition with only a very few missing their points. The shells are well strung on a fine purple silk string and measure 42 cm (overall 168 cm if a single line).

Unfortunately my pictures do not capture the beautiful iridescent glow of these shells. I am loathe to sell this piece but believe it should be in the hands of a real collector for its colour rarity and age.

Please study the array of photos as they are part of the description and ?show the wonderful condition, patina and character better than I can ?explain. Measures: 42 cm long (quadrupled) and 188 cm (single line), shell size approximately 1cm Weight: 35 grams."

SELLER'S DESCRIPTION: Item N0. 380338515166

"Antique 1850s Tasmanian Maireener Shell Aboriginal Necklace Green


This wonderful Guaranteed Antique 1850s Tasmanian Maireener Shell Aboriginal Necklace in the rare Green Mauve Iridescent colour is a brilliant example of such shell necklaces. The shells are the finest and smallest shells I have seen in these type of necklaces and are a wonderful lustrous iridescent green and mauve colour and are in exquisite condition with none missing their points. The shells are well strung on a fine white silk string and measure 62 cm (overall 122cm if a single line).

Unfortunately my pictures do not capture the beautiful iridescent glow of these shells.
I am loathe to sell this piece but believe it should be in the hands of a real collector for its colour rarity and age.

Please study the array of photos as they are part of the description and ?show the wonderful condition, patina and character better than I can ?explain. Measures: 87 cm long (doubled) and 174 cm (single line) shell size approximately 0.3 - 0.5cm Weight: 10 grams"

The seller has not provided, or offered to provide, any evidence that these necklaces are of Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural production. Without such evidence these necklaces cannot be automatically assumed to be "Aboriginal" as claimed in the description.

Sellers who claim "Aboriginality" for these necklaces seem to be attempting to cash in on the premium contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginal makers are winning for their necklaces. If they are indeed Aboriginal cultural products there needs to be evidence/provenance to support the claim.

So buyers looking for Aboriginal cultural production should beware. For more information go to:

• Website # 1: http://tasmanianshellnecklaceresearch.blogspot.com/
• Website # 2: http://qvmagstrunghistories.blogspot.com/
• Website # 3: http://truganininecklaces.blogspot.com/

eBAY Find – June 2010 USA - maireener shells

SELLER'S NOTES:

• #2_ Vintage Tasmanian Maireener Shell Lei Necklace Iridescent Pink
  This is a beautiful vintage Tasmanian Maireener Shell lei necklace. The shells are strung on thread. I do not know if these shells were dyed [almost certainly they have been] or not, but they awesome shades of iridescent pink and blue green colors ... It is in excellent condition and I do not see any broken or missing shells. It measures approximately 34 inches long from end to end ... SOLD FOR: US $152.49 = Approx.AU $175.32

• #3 _Vintage Tasmanian Maireener Shell Lei Necklace Iridescent White
  
  This is a beautiful vintage Tasmanian Maireener Shell lei necklace. The shells are strung on thread. I do not know if these shells were dyed or not, [unlikely to have been]but they awesome shades of iridescent blue green colors ... It is in excellent condition and I do not see any broken or missing shells. It measures approximately 34 inches long from end to end.... SOLD FOR: US $149.99 Approx. AU $172.44

• #1 _ SOLD FOR: US $247.50 Approx. AU $284.55

The most interesting thing about this eBAY sale is that these maireener shell necklaces were described as they were ... "Vintage Tasmanian Maireener Shell Lei Necklace " ... They seem to have come to the seller's possession via West Coast USA sources and it is possible that one way or another the Hawaiian links have been subliminally made.

Authentic Vintage Hawaiian Niihau Shell Lei Necklace

SELLER'S NOTE: Authentic Vintage Hawaiian Niihau Shell 4 Strand Lei Necklace

"This is a beautiful vintage authentic Hawaiian Niihau Shell four strand lei necklace from the island of Niihau. From what I have read, it is made from Mitrella Margarita shells and has a clasp that is made out of two shells that are Cypraea (Staphylaea) granulata granulate, Common Name: Granulated Cowry, Hawaiian Name: Poloholoho'ãpu'upu'u and the two shells where all 4 strands are tied together are Common Name: Depressed/Variegated Sundial, Hawaiian Name: Kauno'o ... There is an old brass sewing snap for the actual closure hook. This snap was glued to the back of the Cowry shells and works perfectly. One of the Cowry shells has a spot that has worn through and shows the natural pink shade of the shell (see photo). This is not a chip; it was worn by the ocean ... It is in excellent condition and I do not see any broken or missing shells. It measures approximately 26 inches long from end to end.

I am listing a beautiful collection of shell leis and necklaces. Some are very rare hard to find extinct shells. If you’re a shell or shell jewelry collector, this is an awesome opportunity to add to your collection. Good luck and Happy Ebaying!"

•••

It seems that Tasmanian maireener shell necklaces that found their way to Honolulu via the 'M M Martin' enterprise – and perhaps via other makers/suppliers as well – became part of the Hawaiian tourist trade market for 'lei' and possibly even used by Hawaiians as lei. This lei seems as if it may be a good example of what they were intended to mimic.

eBAY FIND: SHONKY PRODUCT

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This eBAY find is at once disturbing and reassuring. Disturbing, in the sense that the seller here has no discrimination and is willing to do anything to attract attention to a shonky product. Reassuring, in so much as pulling all the key word tricks here has failed to win the level of bidding real maireener shells attract – on other occasions like shells have failed to win a bid at all. Clearly, the buyers of these necklaces know what they are looking at and what it is they are looking for. Other sellers could do well to learn from this failed entry.

These shells keep turning up and nobody seems to have worked out just where they are from. The Philippines is the best candidate thus far. They are tropical and not from Tasmanian waters. Tasmanian Aboriginal maireener makers would feel insulted to have this work attributed to them as they take great care about the collection and preparation of their shells. While it is possible that they may have dyed their shells at some time there is no evidence of it – anecdotal, circumstantial or concrete.

Also, the seller dated this necklace at 1860/70 and there is a fundamental problem with this it would seem. It is very likely that this necklace was dyed with aniline dyes but these dyes were not invented until the 1890s. Arriving at a date of manufacture for an object often relies upon intuition but here invention ans aspiration seems to have been the main factors informing the intuition. If you do not know, then it is usually better to say so.

If this seller had done some research (any research?) this description could not have been used and the Internet makes this research very easy to do – simply Google 'maireener' necklace to start.

Found on eBAY: USA - maireener shells

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Ended: 14 June, 2010 – 10:13:24 AEST – 14 bids

Winning bid:US $292.00 – AU $343.85

This necklace is typical of the necklaces that have ambiguous authenticity and circumstantially becoming less likely to be made by a Tasmanian Aboriginal maker. Here again there is the use of 'maireener' as an eBAY key word to bring these necklaces to the attention to eBAY buyers who are now paying more attention to them. This necklace seems to be of natural colour and at the same time of a colour type that it seems was sometimes dyed.

eBAY Find – May 2010 UK - maireener shells

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SOLD: 4Bids Winning bid: £170.00 Approx AU $298.14

Clearly this necklace has been dyed and in most other respects bears the hallmarks of a commercially produced 'Hobart Necklace'. The presence of a clasp reinforces this but it is hard to tell from the photographs if this thread is still dyed as it seem s that these necklaces were dyed after stringing. Almost all the circumstantial evidence points to this necklace being a Hobart Necklace and it being quite unlikely for it to have had a Tasmanian Aboriginal maker as is suggested here.

Typically all these necklaces were assumed to be "Tasmanian Aboriginal Shell Necklaces" but now the evidence suggests that where there is no provenance to verify Aboriginal authenticity it is unsafe to assume Aboriginal authenticity albeit that it is made from Tasmanian maireener shells.

eBAY Find – May 2010 USA - non-maireener

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SOLD: US $66.00 – Approx. AU $77.86 – 6 BIDSThis entry is interesting in respect to it being evidence of the Tasmanian Aboriginal/palawa kani word "maireener" being used as an eBAY key word to attract buyers of iridescent/pearlescent shell necklaces. Here there is no claim that these shells are from Tasmania as has been the case in the past. Neither does the seller claim Aboriginal cultural production as some have.

Clearly, these shells have been dyed as some Tasmanian maireener shells necklaces made as a part of the colonial commercial production were. Indeed this necklaces production may well have been a part of the 'international trade' Hobart Necklaces were. It seems that many of the Tasmanian necklaces turned up in Hawaii and transmogrified into lei to satisfy the tourist trade's demand for shell lei – Hawaiian souvenirs cum cultural trophies. Something similar may be the case here.

The source of these necklaces using these shells is unclear but The Philippines is a prime candidate. Certainly these shells do not originate in Tasmanian waters.

NETWORK NOTE: These shells turn up frequently, and probably belong to the Trochidae mollusc family found anywhere in the Indo-Pacific – the ubiquitous "pearled trochus" shells that show up all over ebay. While they are most probably dyed albeit that some shell nacre can be naturally coloured – eg Tasmanian maireeners, the NZ paua shell and others. The difficulty in identifying these shells exactly is because all the exterior identifying characteristics have been stripped away. Numerous species of trochus shells have this same size and shape.

KC & LT

eBAY Find – May 2010 Canada - maireener

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This necklace is 1.8 metres long and one of the longer versions of this class of necklace. These shells appear to be naturally coloured iridescent maireener shell necklaces. It is a typical exemplar of the necklaces that are increasingly appearing on the international – Australia, USA & UK – 'antique' market. Most seem to turning up on eBAY and found via the Key Word "maireener".

eBAY Find – May 2010 UK–maireener

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There seems to be no evidence of dyes being used on this necklace to enhance the colour and/or iridescence of the shells. The fact that it has a clasp suggests that it is the product of commercial production or more likely to be so than it may be Aboriginal production. However, there are many ways it may have gained this clasp that does not preclude it from being of Aboriginal origin in Tasmania.

Circumstantially, the fact that this necklace turns up in the UK, and that it is short, and that it's clasp is of the kind that it is, all this in turn tends to suggest that it was commercially produced and exported to the UK sometime between the turn of the turn of the 20th C and WW2. An examination of the string may well enable a more specific dating.

Whatever, the necklace is an exemplar of the ambiguous maireener shell necklaces turning up on the international antique market.