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  • Published 20150203
  • ISBN: 9781922182678
  • Extent: 264 pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm), eBook

lustre: radiance or brilliance of light

THERE IS ANOTHER boom-and-bust resource industry in the West, one with a long and near-forgotten history. The exploitation and artistic use of the pearl shell Pinctada maxima, one of the largest and most lustrous nacre-producing bivalve shells found along the northern shores, is an ancient craft dating back over twenty thousand years. Its story is full of wonder, intrigue, romance and greed – yet to be fully appreciated in Australian history.

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