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Ear trumpet belonging to Ethel Anderson, no date
Artisan unknown
Silver with three moonstones inset around edge
R 846
Ethel Campbell Louise Anderson, nee Mason, (1883–1958) was an author, poet and artist who moved in the bohemian literary and artistic circles of northern Sydney. She contributed to various Australian and international periodicals as well as publishing several volumes of verse.
Anderson founded the Turramurra Wall Painters, which also included artists Roland Wakelin and Roy de Maistre. In 1929, the Wall Painters created the murals on the walls of the children’s chapel in the crypt of St James Church, Sydney. When Anderson designed the murals, which show scenes from the carol ‘I Saw Three Ships’, her aim was to ‘give the tiny room the brilliance of a page from the Book of Kells’.
Ethel Anderson always had a passion for life, art and literature. her hearing deteriorated in old age, she began using a large silver ear trumpet, often adorned with colourful pieces of fabric to match her dresses.