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.

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.

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

Call For Shell Identification – maireeners??

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The image above was sent in to the network in search of identification "of a shell necklace I have acquired- it is very long and worn lariat style ... there is a close up of the shells - the necklace is made up of hundreds of these shells ... I have been told they are [Tasmanian] maireener shells ... would you be able to confirm this at all ... SD_P1020075 "

Clearly the owner here has been mislead and these shells ARE NOT remotely like any of the shells now being marketed on eBAY or anywhere else as 'Tasmanian maireener shells'. However it has been noted that 'maireener' is being used to describe a range of small iridescent shells – not always from Tasmania if at all – used to make necklaces. The shells that do qualify for being called maireener shells are identified here – click here. Given that these shells are not Tasmanian – and even unlikely to be Australian – we are not in a position to say what they actually are but there are network members who may be able to.

It is most important to remember that maireener shells are only iridescent if they have been cleaned – had their outer coating removed either chemically or physically.

If the owner bought these shells because they were maireeners shells, or even Tasmanian maireener shell, or worse still Tasmanian maireener shells in a Tasmanian Aboriginal made necklace they have been mislead. The word 'maireener' has become "the key word" for the necklaces that are recorded on this site.

It has been noted that 'maireener' has often been misused as a key word by eBAY sellers!

Well here is the information requested: "These are a prosobranch (gilled) landsnail. The Family is Helicinidae. Exact species is difficult to pin – they look alot alike – but likely genera are Helicina, Sulfurina, or Orobophana. There are many species in the West Indies and tropical Asia, including islands in the Pacific ... one species has been identified in Texas, USA. On eBay, sometimes they are listed as 'pikake' shells, which possibly is not accurate, either. Several "Hawaiian" necklaces contain these shells. Sometimes they are coated with a pearlized-looking paint to make them appear iridescent, but they do not contain any mother of pearl and are therefore incapable of being truly iridescent. They are kind of cute and string nicely." ... the knowledge bank grows.

Found on eBAY: Shell Necklace – UK

This necklace is not as described albeit that the seller seems to have chosen the language they've used rather carefully. They have used "key words – Aboriginal & maireener" to attract attention to their entry. These key words seem to have won considerable currency in the past 12 to 18 moths on eBAY. So it is worth doing some unpicking.

maireener is a Tasmanian Aboriginal (palawa-kani) word that in its contemporary context means a group of shells 'rainbow kelp shells' – Phasianotrochus irisodontes, Phasianotrochus eximius Phasianotrochus apicinus – used and prized by Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklacemakers. As an eBAY key word it is increasingly used euphemistically by sellers to describe almost any small iridescent/opalescent in a shell necklace. This 'eBAY euphemism' becomes deceptive and is arguably used to 'attract' buyers looking for a particular aesthetic. On eBAY the word has clearly entered the lexicon and has become a powerful, and ambiguous, key word – buyers beware.

Aboriginal (first; original; indigenous; primitive; native) is an interesting eBAY key word. It may be claimed as a 'global' word carrying the meanings that it does with the subtext 'exotic and other.' In an eBAY key word context, "Aboriginal" typical refers generically to 'Australian Aboriginal' and in relation to shell necklaces it evokes 'Tasmanian Aboriginal' . The word "aboriginal" (lower case spelling) is ambiguous and "Aboriginal" has become the convention to denote Australian Aboriginal. Nonetheless, as an eBAY key word it is ambiguous and often used that way by sellers looking to attract buyers with a particular sensibility. Interestingly when doing so, and deceptively, they turn these buyers off!

This eBAY entry is an example of the key words being used as euphemistic baits for buyers looking for the 'exotic and other'. Is the wording deceptive, naive, ill-informed and deliberate? It is an open question! Let's say all of the above but in different ways at different times and in different contexts.

GOOGLE KEY WORDS: eBAY, 120561637648, Aboriginal, Tasmania, Tasmanian, shell necklace, Ilkley, United Kingdom, vintage, antique, maireener, pearlescent, iridescent, opalescent, rainbow kelp shell, deceptive.

eBAY Find – April 2010 UK

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This necklace opens up some interesting areas of speculation. If it turns out that shells are identifiable as Tasmanian it may be linked to the necklace depicted in the 'Butterfield Photograph' [ link 1 ] • [ link 2 ] and if it is it may tell us something more about 'Hobart Necklaces' in Tasmania. If the shells can be identified as coming from the UK as implied by the seller here it may tell us something about the trade Hobart Necklaces were a part of.

Watch this space!

Alerted by: PD-SB.US

Found on eBAY: NOT a maireener, NOT Tasmanian, NOT made by a Tasmanian Aboriginal maker.

Apparently someone told the seller here that one the same that sold for over £100. If that was so then maybe it would have been good to quote the eBAY item number. The good thing about eBAY is that it is a very good research tool.

Necklaces made with Tasmanian maireener shells do quite often sell for over £100 and contemporary maireener shell necklaces made by Aboriginal makers sell for well over £100.

So you have to wonder if the one that apparently sold for over £100 was the same as this one. Without the evidence it is impossible to say. But clearly such necklace's 'Aboriginality' does seem to add value to them.

Anyway the buyers are able to do their research and this one didn't attract a bid let alone reach the seller's reserve.