Strange Things Collection by Catherine Large

Object / Organic

Top row left to right

Moscow Great City souvenir badge (Cyrillic text), purchased in Moscow, 1989.Vietnamese 5 Dong Coin dated 1971. Inherited from my Father in 2008, who brought it back from Vietnam after his last tour as a Team Leader of Volunteer Medical Specialists (Surgical Teams) in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, 1972. Yugoslavian 20 Dinar coin, collected as change in Yugoslavia, 1990. Half-penny coin (date indecipherable) from Anzac Park, Toowong. Indian silver 2 Paisa coin, dated 1891, embellished with decorated edge and with signs that it was possibly used as one of a pair of cufflinks, collected in India in 1983. Moonstone Bead with gold findings from my mothers’ jewellery box. Origin unknown, came into my possession 2009. My hair, circa 1988, with lorikeet feather from my Sydney garden, re-purposed from another artwork. Thank you Robert Baines - precision exercise, made during the 1st year of my undergraduate degree, 1983. Nickel silver cube intersected with a brass rod.Tumbled Glass ring from a bottle, purchased in Camberwell Market in Melbourne, 1980s. Prized red blood-reel marble from the 1920s inherited by my husband from his Mother’s marble bag collection.Pottery shard collected during travels in Asia. Keyholecomb broad tooth shearing Sunbeam plate, Brisbane.Plumb-bob, origin unknown, found in our garden in Brisbane. Iron horse bit, Simpson’s Falls, Brisbane.

Middle row left to right

Stainless steel tip of a found on the bank of the Coolaburragundy River at Coolah, NSW, 2014. Veinstripper, inherited from my father on his retirement from his surgical practice. Part of bottle, found at a bottle dump Dunolly, Victoria. Ruskin pottery brooch, made from glaze sample, with broken clasp. Inherited from my great-aunt, 1987. Earring from Israel. Gift from my oldest friend, 1982. Nifty pointed sterling silver shirt stud, inherited from my father-in-law. Bronze ornament collected from the ground in Paris in Pere Lachaise Cimetière, circa 1990. Floriate bronze ornament collected from the ground in Paris in Pere Lachaise Cimetière, circa 1990. Bullet, collected from Anzac Cove, Gallipoli. Exploded bullet shell from a Match Rifle shot by my uncle at a target in Woomera in 1993. Tin Hat Appeal RSL Fund raiser, from my husband’s grandmother. Impression of a sugar spoon and part of a metal adornment, possibly from clothing or a belt. Maple leaf picture hook that belonged to my husband’s grandfather who fought in the Canadian Army in WW1. Silver container with snake emblem, origin and use unknown, possibly medical. Inherited from my great-aunt in 1986.Emperor Hirohito tin whistle from WW2. Belonged to my husband’s grandmother. Cast-iron architectural ornament, Brisbane.

Bottom row left to right

Metal pulley. Metal washer from canvas tent, possibly 1940s, found in Anzac Park, Toowong, Brisbane, 2014. Bronze grommet. Lead sinker from a collection belonging to my husband. Possibly found on Peel Island, Moreton Bay, circa. 1993. Old copper washer. Fanta lid (Cyrillic text), from a bottle purchased in Moscow, 1989. Moscow souvenir badge depicting St Basil’s Church (Cyrillic text), purchased in Moscow, 1989. Tin lid that reads PIERCE HERE THEN LEVER OPEN. Red plastic 1950s button, gift from a friend, 1980s. Nifty sterling silver shirt stud, Comrades of the inherited from my father-in-law.Great War, numbered badge. Belonged to my husband’s grandfather. Bullet Shell, 1940s. Anzac Park, Toowong. Neillo butterfly cufflink. Found in my husband’s grandmother’s effects. Burmese 25 Pyas coin, 1963. Glass Bead from Ancient Thira (Santorini, Greece). Collected 1989.