Scottish university returns rare Tasmanian shell necklace
The announcement comes alongside news the University of Aberdeen will return the remains of an Aboriginal Tasmanian man on Friday.
A rare Tasmanian shell necklace that was donated to a Scottish university in the 19th century is returning to its homeland, 30 years after the first request for its repatriation.
The 148cm-long necklace is believed to have been made by Aboriginal women on the Bass Strait islands, located between Tasmania and mainland Australia.
It features elenchus or maireener shells found off the coast of Tasmania, and comes from a tradition of Tasmanian necklace-making that has continued uninterrupted for thousands of years.
The necklace is recorded as having been donated to The Hunterian museum at the University of Glasgow by Mrs Margaret Miller of Launceston during a visit to Scotland in 1877.
It is one of a number of necklaces to reach European museums during this period, at least 16 of which still remain in UK collections.
During the 19th century, shell necklaces were attractive to collectors as cultural and aesthetic “first contact” items, and the sale of necklaces became one of the few commercial enterprises available to Aboriginal people on the Bass Strait islands.
