26th Oct, 2021 11:00

From the Curious to the Extraordinary

 
  Lot 140
 

A COLLECTION OF EIGHT LATE 19TH / EARLY 20TH CENTURY CARVED GREAT GREEN TURBAN SHELLS (TURBO MARMORATUS)
PRISONER OF WAR WORK FROM THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS

A COLLECTION OF EIGHT LATE 19TH / EARLY 20TH CENTURY CARVED GREAT GREEN TURBAN SHELLS (TURBO MARMORATUS)

the sea snail shells of Conchology interest, the pearlescent Gastropod seashell with outer layers stripped to show the nacre, with pierced filigree work and inscriptions, 'Andaman Islands', 'Andaman', Port Blair', 'From Andaman Islands', 'Donald', 'Home Sweet Home', and 'Best Wishes',

the largest 15cm (8)

These shells are rare surviving examples from Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. They aer thought to have been carved by the prisoners at Ross Island Penal Colony, which was a convict settlement established in 1858 in the remote Andaman Islands by the British colonial government in India, primarily to jail a large number of prisoners from the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Indian Mutiny.

For a similarly carved shell in a museum collection, see Hampshire Cultural Trust, Object number HMCMS:GOS1985.359, Taxonomic name: Mollusca Gastropoda Trochacea Turbinidae, Turbo marmoratus L

Provenance: Marie-Claude Fabius, a respected London antiques dealer was passionate about her treasured shell collection, amassed over many years. She descended from a long dynasty of famous Parisian antique dealers.


 

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