Pearl shell is found along the north-west Australian coast. Aboriginal people see creation ancestors’ power reflected in the shimmer of the shell and link it with rain, lightning and water, fundamental for life. In the Kimberley region, pearl shell was often used for breast and pubic pendants (as worn by the men depicted in this pendant above). Pearl shell was also traded thousands of miles inland. 20th-century artists introduced new designs, sometimes depicting people and animals.
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Pearl shell was prized for its iridescent qualities – its capacity to shine – which spoke to Indigenous aesthetic sensibilities. It was incorporated into decorative forms for personal adornment or ritual purposes as is evidenced by the beautiful pearl shell belt that has survived from Melbourne’s colonial days (above). The meanings attached to pearl shell changed as it moved south and its value increased according its scarcity. But one widespread association was its connection with rain and lightning.
You can see these objects in the BP exhibition Indigenous Australia: enduring civilisation (23 April – 2 August 2015).
Find out more in the book accompanying the exhibition written by Gaye Sculthorpe and Lissant Bolton, British Museum, John Carty, Howard Morphy and Maria Nugent, Australian National University, Ian Coates, National Museum of Australia, and Aboriginal artist Jonathan Jones.