Found on eBAY: NOT apple seed, NOT Tasmanian, NOT made by a Tasmanian Aboriginal maker.

SOLD: 13 Jun, 2010 – 21:07:04 AEST
2 Bids – Winning bid: AU $27.00
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This entry on eBAY was logged at 5.20 pm AEST on June 7
While the seller has given potential buyers some Internet sites to visit they seem to have been chosen for the contradictory and confusing information that they give. Indeed, the Hawkins' antique site is out of date. This is a case where science has proven that the seeds are NOT apple seeds and there is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER for the seeds themselves – Leucaena leucocephala – being imported into Tasmania or for there being any Tasmanian Aboriginal involvement in this class of work's manufacture.

Interestingly, there are reports of these seeds turning up in necklaces made by Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory where the Leucaena leucocephala plant is an invasive woody weed. It is worth noting that Leucaena leucocephala is a tropical plant that will not grow in Tasmania except under artificial conditions.

ipil seed Aboriginal Tasmania apple seed necklace

eBAY Find – May 2010 Australia

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Sadly this photograph does not give us a clear view of this necklace, nonetheless it bears all the hallmarks of Filipino/Palawan cultural production. It also provides further evidence of how deeply etched the "apple seed" misinterpretation is in the Globalised cultural imagination.

If something looks like something it is not always what it appears to be.

APPLE SEED PURSE STORY

“Conversation with Ruth: Ruth tells of her ‘Gran’ Lotte Woollard who died in Melbourne in1969. Gran had a purse that was a treasure but one that she allowed her grandchildren to play with “if you were very careful”. Ruth was one of those children and “Gran’s little darling.” She clearly remembers not only playing with the this purse – a woven ‘apple seed’ purse – but also that it “was wonderful.” This was in Melbourne in the 1950s and so far as Ruth knows Lotti had never visited Tasmania. Well she hadn’t until she visited her in George Town after she had moved to Tasmania with her parents in the 1950s.

By then her parents had moved to Tasmania and it turned out to be their, and Ruth’s, new home. Her father moved for work reasons and intended to return to Melbourne after two years. That never happened and her childhood in Melbourne has fond memories.

Lottie’s purse had stories – and possibly sentimental memories – but Ruth’s memories of it suggest that Gran would have had it since the 1930s. Lotti never talked about how she came by this purse but there was a story there somewhere otherwise she wouldn’t have treasured it so. Ruth cherishes her memory of this purse too. So much so that she has drawn it from memory and in her memory – WATCH THIS SPACE – it will always be as “Gran Woollard’s purse”. (Pers Com … 03.03.2009) “

eBAY FIND: Apple or Ipil Seed?

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eBAY SELLER: kathyscorner22 Thomaston, Maine, United States

THIS ITEM: VINTAGE SEASHELL & SEED NECKLACE

• SPECIFICS: Necklace is strung with seashells and some sort of seeds, typical of the Pacific Islands. Hippy love beads that we saw in the '60s... Nicely made!
• CIRCA: 1960 - 1970
• DIMENSIONS: approx 35" (No clasp, so couldn't lay it out to get precise measurement)
• CONDITION: VERY GOOD
• NOTE: The seeds in this piece seem to be of a similar kind to those being found in Tasmania and described as "apple seeds" but are clearly something else.

PROGRESS REPORT #1: Apple Seeds or Something Else

Information is starting to flow in from various sources and some of it is quite interesting. We are yet to hear from anyone who knows of a maker of these wonderful objects in Tasmania but we are patiently working on that. We have some interesting 2nd and 3rd hand reports and will report those just as soon as we meet the 1st hand observer.

We have also been doing some Internet research and have gleaned some information that may help further along in the process. Click on these links to see the images [LINK 1] • [LINK 2] • [LINK 3] • [LINK 4] • [LINK 5] • [LINK6]
The Bonhams & Goodman Find [LINK ] The Philippines Find [ LINK ]

OUR MEDIA RELEASE: Watch This Space For More Information [ LINK ]

It also seems that neither the VDL Folk Museum in Hobart nor the TMAG in Hobart nor the QVMAG in Launceston has any of this material in their collections. We are wondering how that came about! Does anyone have an idea?

If you are reading this and have a comment to make please do so in the comment section below.

FOUND ON eBAY: Apple Seed Neclace

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SELLER'S NOTE: hi there I don't know a lot but what I do know is that they are very important to Aboriginal women, they made them not only from apple seed but also made them from the seeds of the bat wing coral tree and the red bean tree which they call gomow, these necklaces were worn by widows. I can't date the actual ones I have, I have no idea how to tell that one yet but they are bot in perfect condition and a lot of work has gone in to them. I hope this helps regards ... Karen - robnkaz4

INTERNET FIND #2 _ Bonhams & Goodman – Apple seed necklace & table mat

click on the image to go to its source

Information provided by the auction house – Bonhams & Goodman – confirmed that these items came from a Tasmanian estate but that beyond that there was no other provenance provided.

TASRN would be pleased to hear about like items in Tasmania. Please email AppleSeedResearch@7250.net or make a comment below