Two Tasmanian Aboriginal Necklaces
Two Tasmanian Aboriginal Necklaces
Made from rare iridescent 'seaweed' Trochus shells
19th Century
Sizes: 184cm long – 72½ ins long (each)
Made from rare iridescent 'seaweed' Trochus shells
19th Century
Sizes: 184cm long – 72½ ins long (each)
The gastropod Phasiantrochus is a genus that particularly adapted to feed on kelp and other algae and was thus called the 'seaweed shell'. Three species occur in Tasmanian waters that have been used for necklaces. These are often seen in the early depictions of Tasmanians by European first contact artists, and most famously in the 1860's photographic portrait by J. W. Beattie of Truganini, Tasmania's best known Aborigine.
Two Tasmanian Aboriginal Necklaces
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