Three of these historic works comprise solely maireener shells, in different sizes and colours, the most pure form of the tradition of Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklace-making. The fourth historic work is distinctive for its omission of maireeners and the use of numerous delicate rye shells punctuated by black crow shells.

A late 19th-century photograph of renowned Tasmanian Aboriginal woman Trugannini — popularly and racially defined as ‘the last full-blood Tasmanian Aborigine’ — portrays her anguished yet dignified face, a maireener shell necklace wound round and round her neck.