TitleShellwork trinket box with blue velvet, heart shaped, handmade by Aunty Esme Timbery Date2007About this objectThis heart shaped shellwork trinket box was made by the late Aunty Esme Timbery, Bidjigal Elder and renowned artist, whose shellworks have been collected by museums and galleries across Australia.
The youngest of five children of Hubert Timbery and Elizabeth Butler, Aunty Esme was born in 1931 in Port Kembla at one of her family’s fishing camps, Hill 60. Descendent of the Timbery family from the La Perouse Aboriginal Community, Aunty Esme came from a long line of shell artists, including her great-grandmother, ‘Queen’ Emma Timbery, who had regularly displayed and sold her shellworks at the Royal Ester Show in Sydney.
Shellwork is an iconic Aboriginal artform in La Perouse. The production of shellwork souvenirs by indigenous women in Sydney dates at least to the late nineteenth century, with documents recording women selling shell baskets at Circular Quay and Botany Bay as early as the 1880s.
With the establishment of La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve in 1895, the production of artefacts became, in the eyes of the missionaries, a means to keep people busy and to exercise control. It is likely that the missionaries influenced the choice of objects that the women were making — the shellwork baby shoes, jewellery boxes and replicas of famous landmarks reflected a Victorian sensibility for craft objects, drawing on shell crafts that were popular in Britain and Australia in the late 19th century, or Victorian era.
Despite the origin of this unique artform, the history of shellwork making reflects the connections between generations of Aboriginal women, between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, locals and tourists, as well as between people and the land, tides and oceans.
While the making of artefacts was considered a means of occupying the Aboriginal people living on the reserve, thus restricting their contact with other Australians, the result was the opposite—the souvenir industry became an important factor in defeating the segregation policy. A weekend outing to ‘the Loop’, as the tram terminal was known, became a fashionable pastime for both local and overseas visitors, especially after 1905 when the area was declared a public recreational space. Families would catch the tram to La Perouse and wander the headland, buying shellwork and other souvenirs to take home with them.
The tourist industry declined at La Perouse in the 1960s when the tram service and tourist ferry ceased operations. At the same time, First Nations souvenir makers had trouble competing with mass-produced items.Object No.2023.6Physical descriptionThis heart shaped shellwork trinket box is made of cardboard, lined with aqua velveteen and decorated with lace, shells and glitter. The back and interior are lined with blue-and-white gingham fabric. Two horizontal bands of shells run along the sides of the box, consisting of a mix of shell types. The lid is bordered with a white lace trim. Five different shell types are arranged in a concentric pattern centring around a rosette-like grouping of white clam shells. Silver glitter fills the gaps between shells. CreatorTimbery, EsmeDimensionsH: 19cm
W: 17cm
D: 9cmPlace madeLa Perouse (N.S.W.)MaterialCardboardVelvetLaceShellsGlitterGluePlywoodSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance c. 2007 - Made by Aunty Esme Timbery;
c. 2007-2015 - Purchased by Randwick City Library;
2 November 2023 - Donated to La Perouse Museum by Randwick City Council Library.Credit lineGift of Randwick City Council Library, 2023Acquisition date2 November 2023SubjectsArt, Aboriginal AustralianShellworkAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplesPeople (Detailed entries)Timbery, EsmeOrganisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)CategoryMuseum | First NationsThemesFirst Nations
