Shell Necklace – Totham Collection Hobart

CLICK ON THE I8MAGE TO ENLARGE

George Totham lived in Hobart at Battery Point and was an enthusiastic collector of furniture, ceramics and artwork. His collecting spanned from 1920's to 70's.

His collection was eclectic and he kept a complete collection of Chinese artefacts in a designated room where he played mah-jong. George Totham was a lawyer and in this role he was involved in the dispersal of many estates in Tasmania. Indeed he is reported to have been the auctioneer at many.

Given the circumstantial evidence, this necklace on the balance of probability originated in the Furneaux Islands and made by any one of a number of Tasmanian Aboriginal women making necklaces there over a long period.