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Kelp water containers are iconic examples of lutruwita’s (Tasmania) indigenous material culture. This article explores the research process that led to the identification of the oldest known specimen in the world, collected during the Bruni d'Entrecasteaux Expedition (1791-94). For a long time, this unique artefact, which entered the Louvre Naval Museum through the Denon collection, seemed to have disappeared. It remained hidden, anonymous, among other undocumented objects of the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum’s collections.