Teaching aide- Shell money
Production date
Unknown
Country
Solomon Islands
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Object detail
Description
Teaching aid used by donor to explain shell money in church lectures. Strand of shell money taped to cardboard backing with descriptive text
Classification
INDIGENOUS CULTURES Melanesian & South Sea Islander
NUMISMATICS (COINS AND TOKENS)
NUMISMATICS (COINS AND TOKENS)
Maker
Production date
Unknown
Production place
Measurements
L190 x W110 x H9 mm
Media/Materials description
Cardboard, shell, seed pods, adhesive tape
Signature/Marks
SHELL MONEY \ and Porpoise teeth \ 1. \ red shells more \ valuable than white \ because they come \ from deeper parts \ of the sea
History and use
This object is from the Helen Barrett collection, which was donated to Queensland Museum in 2014. Miss Helen Barrett worked as a nurse with the Australian Board of Mission in Solomon Islands from 1947 until 1984. Barrett was based at Tasia in Isabel Province, and Maravovo on Guadalcanal before being stationed at the Hospital of the Epiphany at Fauabu, Malaita from 1968 until 1984. In the 1990s, Barrett worked with the Mothers Union in the Torres Strait Islands. Her collection largely comprises of objects that were presented as gifts over the course of her missionary work in Melanesia.
The teaching aid was made by the donor for use in church lectures about her time in the Solomon Islands. A Malaita shell money necklace has been taped to a piece of card with handwritten text about the use of shell money in Solomon Islands.
The teaching aid was made by the donor for use in church lectures about her time in the Solomon Islands. A Malaita shell money necklace has been taped to a piece of card with handwritten text about the use of shell money in Solomon Islands.
Registration number
E40770
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