One of the Aboriginal community’s ‘most significant’ ancestral objects has returned to Tasmania after going missing for over two centuries.
The rare rikawa, or kelp water carrier, touched down in Tasmania after 230 years overseas late last year.
The rikawa has endured decades of being labelled incorrectly, as well as passing through many private and public collections before it was located and identified in a French museum collection.
Made in the late 18th century from bull kelp, wooden skewers and plant fiber ties, the rikawa was commonly used by the Palawa people to hold and carry water.
The item was collected from the area near Recherche Bay in 1792 by the expedition party of Bruni d’Entrecasteaux.
Records of its existence in a private collection date back to the 1820s when it was illustrated in a catalog.
After that, it entered the French public collections, was displayed in the Louvre, and then progressively mislabeled over the years, incorrectly describing its materials and country of origin, before ending up misplaced in various museum collections in Paris.
The object is one of only two historic rikawa known to exist and is considered an important cultural treasure for the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
The object’s rareness was highlighted by the fact that it was recently identified in 2019 at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris after many years of searching.
Dr. Gaye Sculthorpe, a Palawa woman and experienced museum curator working at the British Museum, came across a drawing of the rikawa when it was on display in the 1890s in the Ethnographic Museum of the Louvre in Paris.
She suspected the missing rikawa may still be in existence and contacted her colleagues at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac to conduct an extensive search to track down the rare object.
Emirates sponsored the transport of the rare and valuable rikawa under the care and supervision of curators from Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.
The rikawa underwent extensive checks before being placed into a specially designed and climate-controlled case for the journey.
The curators escorting the rikawa were able to undertake checks throughout the flight and at borders to ensure it was secure.
Upon arrival in Tasmania, the rikawa underwent another intricate condition report, which confirmed there had been no damage, before it was placed in a specially designed and climate-controlled display case.
The rikawa is now on loan for two years and is on display at the taypani milaythina-tu: Return to Country exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
