TitleShellwork shoes with blue velvet, handmade by Aunty Marilyn RussellDate2023About this objectThis is a pair of shellwork shoes made by La Perouse Aboriginal Elder Aunty Marilyn Russell, an accomplished shellworker and daughter of the late Esme Timbery, who was also a renowned shellworker with works collected by museums across Australia.
Shellwork is an iconic Aboriginal artform in La Perouse. The production of shellwork artefacts dates to at least the late 1800s, with documents recording women selling shell baskets at Circular Quay and Botany Bay as early as the 1880s. The history of shellwork making by the local Aboriginal community is also connected with the development of La Perouse as a tourist destination, when tramline connected the suburb with the city from 1902. During the early to mid-twentieth century, selling Aboriginal artefacts to non-Indigenous tourists was a way for the Aboriginal community to reengage with the economy.Object No.2023.3-1:2Physical descriptionThe pair of shellwork shoes or booties are made of cardboard, covered in light blue velvet, and decorated with a variety of shells and glitter.
The heel of the left shoe is flat without sides and is decorated with a circle of 7 white clam shells glued concave (on their backs), and a brown-striped limpet shell glued in the centre. The shell at the 1 o'clock position (heel at 6 o'clock and toe at 12 o'clock) is raised up from the surrounding shells.
The heel of the right shoe is flat without sides and is decorated with a circle of 6 white clam shells glued concave (on their backs), and a brown-striped limpet shell glued in the centre.
The toe is covered in shellwork. A white clamshell, glued convex, is centred within a circle of smaller clamshells glued concave around it. Above the clamshell circle is a row of brown periwinkle shells. Below the circle is a row of star-shaped limpet shells, and below that a final row of small white clamshells. Silver glitter has been sprinkled over the shoe.CreatorRussell, MarilynDimensions(each shoe)
H: 4cm
W: 7cm
D: 13cmPlace madeLa Perouse (N.S.W.)MaterialCardboardVelvetShellsSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance Prior to 2023 - Made by Aunty Marilyn Russell;
29 March 2023 - Purchased by La Perouse Museum.Credit linePurchased 2023Acquisition date29 March 2023Organisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)ThemesFirst Nations
Russell, Marilyn, Shellwork shoes with blue velvet, handmade by Aunty Marilyn Russell (2023). Randwick City Council, accessed 21/01/2026, https://ourstory.randwick.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/9739
