The Story Necklace is a collaborative work of threaded gum nuts, ininti and quandong seeds telling the story of its creation – from visiting country to harvesting the seeds to coming together to prepare and string the necklace into existence.

Alice Beale, Senior Collection Manager, Humanities and World Cultures at the South Australian Museum, says the Story Necklace is a celebration of women’s knowledge and is the result of a collaboration of 21 male and female artists from Ikuntji artists.

“Each of the thousands of seeds and gumnuts tells a story about the country it was collected from. The creation of this piece shows a renewal and continuation of Aboriginal women’s central place in Aboriginal society,” Ms Beale explains.

“In recent years the South Australian Museum has dedicated itself to collecting and capturing the stories of women because our collections are historically gendered towards male collection items – mainly due to our collectors being male.” 

The acquisition of the Story Necklace was funded by Sparkke at the Whitmore, with sales of their limited edition-prints from the Women’s Work display – which is currently also on display at the Museum – going directly to support the Museum’s mission to better recognise the work of women in its collection.

Sparkke co-founder Kari Allen said, “It was a privilege to work with the South Australian Museum and photographer Wayne Quilliam to celebrate the important cultural leadership contributed by a number of South Australian Aboriginal women at a community level, the result of which is Women’s Work.”

“To contribute all of the funds raised through that exhibition, and its launch on 26 January 2020, to the acquisition of the Story Necklace for the Museum has brought our intentions full circle, this is a special day for all of us involved in this project” Kari continued.

In the Western Desert the making and wearing of jewellery and other forms of adornment has been passed through generations of Aboriginal women.

When asked where a skill like this is learnt, Ikuntji artist Kelly Dixon from the Northern Territory explains: “My mother, grandmother and auntie were the ones who taught me…we have learnt from our grandmothers, now we are still making jewellery.

“Jewellery is an underappreciated art form in today’s contemporary Aboriginal art market and yet it is based on the wisdom of generations of Aboriginal women. We hope this display sheds some light on the skill and patience it takes and the variety in colour and pattern that each artist has brought to the piece,” Ms Beale says.  

The Story Necklace will be on display from today in the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery at the South Australian Museum. Entry is free.