5. Art
and Architecture:
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Man has long
been inspired by the graceful symmetry and beauty of shells. Archaeological
diggings at many ancient sites have produced shells and artifacts in the
design of shells. Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans used the shell's shape
as part of their building design and decor. Shells and shell motifs have
often been incorporated into man's homes and public buildings. Architecture
has been profoundly influenced by the symmetry of molluscs. Many great
artists were so inspired by the beauty, diversity and design of the shell,
that they incorporated them into their masterpieces.
Here are a few examples
of shell artistry, famous artists and architectures:
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Artists:
- Botticelli's
Birth of Venus has Venus rising
from the foam in a scallop shell. In the ancient world of the
Mediterranean, this theme of Aphrodite's (Venus's) arising birth
from the shell repeats itself in figurines and wall paintings.
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Montefeltro
Altarpiece
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Benvenuto
Cellini's "The Jewel Chalice" . This
precious work of art is a golden shell, exquisitely chased and
adorned with jewels. Other artists who included shells in their
work are: Ensor, Rodin, and Brusselmans.
Benvenuto Cellini
Italian Mannerist Sculptor and Goldsmith, (1500-1571)
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Searching for a photo
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- Other
artists who also included shells in their work are: Ensor, Rodin,
and Brusselmans.
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Sculptors:
Bernini
made the famous Triton (designed after the Charonia or trumpet
shell) fountain in Rome.
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
( -1598-1680)
An excellent
Biography
Fountain of Triton
1635
Marble
Piazza Barberini, Rome
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Michelangelo,
and many other sculptors and artists, (famous or not!)
used shell images and forms in their works - why? Because shells
are beautiful!!
Michelangelo
Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
(b. March 6, 1475, Caprese, Republic of Florence [Italy]--d. Feb.
18, 1564, Rome),
Visit
the Web Gallery
of Art to see his most famous work
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St Paul
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Architecture:
Leonardo
da Vinci drafted the first spiral staircase
plans (which are still used by architects today!) from studying
the simple snail shell with its interior whorls.
Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519)
Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and
all-around genius.
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Example of
a Spiral Staircase
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The
spiral tops of Grecian Columns were designed
after a nautilus shell cut in half.
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Example
of spiral-topped Grecian columns
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During
the Renaissance, architects copied shell shapes for design in niches,
facades, tombs and pedestals.
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Frank
Lloyd Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum around the Japanese
Miracle Shell (Thatcheria mirabilis (Angass).
Guggenheim Museum
New York
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The
Sydney Opera House was designed to look
like a giant Cock's Comb Oyster (Lopha cristagalli (Linne)).
Go to the JØRN
UTZON for 2 great pictures of this building
(the second one is best!). |
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The
Mayans of Mexico carved bivalves and conch
shells into the walls of their public buildings and temples.
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Crafts:
Today, man's love
affair with the shell is still seen in many of his crafts such as:
- Shell
cameos: Especially popular in Victorian
England. A few Italian artisans still make beautiful cameos
out of the Red Helmet shell (Cassis rufa L.)
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- Sailor's
valentines: On long voyages, sailors
had plenty of time on their hands, so many of them made gifts
to give to their girlfriends. These included the famous
Scrimshaw, usually done on Walrus tusks or Whalebone, and lovingly
carved shells - the "Sailors' Valentines"!
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- Carved
decorative shells: A specialty of India
and the Philippines. While many are little more than trinkets,
the best are truly beautiful little works of art.
Here
is a Cypraecassis rufa carved with a cameo on it.
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- Shell
floral arrangements: These are usually
of excellent quality, when you can find them - but you could make
your own! Most craft shops have lots of decorative shells,
and it is a fun craft to get involved with!
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My own Floral creation
(Avril Bourquin)
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- Shell
decoupage: This is essentially making
pictures by gluing shells or pieces of shell inlay onto a background.
It can be used to produce bric-a-brac, or Exquisite works of art
- depending on time, skill, and what you want from it!
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- Sea
shell figurines and toys: Made in Taiwan,
the Philippines, India and other places with inexpensive labor
and plenty of shells. Many of them are extremely imaginative!
Lots of
us crafters make them at home as well, as you can see.
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- Jewelry:
Shells have been used to make Jewelry
for thousands of years - especially valued for this is the exquisitely
iridescent (i.e., containing all colors of the rainbow!) interior
of Abalone (Haliotis spp) shells, and the shiny "mother
of pearl" interior of oysters and several other bivalves.
(Can someone
find examples of some of these on the web?)
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- Today, many
artisans are elctroplating real shells with gold and silver.
They're also making many fabulous and very realistic glass and
crystal shell figurines.
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Decorations:
Man has been using
shells to decorate his dwellings and public meeting places since before
the dawn of history. (Note: Take a look around your own house -
bet you find a shell or two somewhere!)
Shell Crafts
(see above section) remain a distinctive form
of decoration. Many of the art forms of today started in the early eighteenth
century. The chief credit for making shell work so popular and
fashionable a pastime goes to England and specifically to Mrs. Delany
and the Duchess
of Portland(1714-1785). Untold millions
of shells are displayed in homes and are cherished as curios and in
treasured private collections worldwide.
Shell Inlay:
Mother of pearl from various shells is used as inlay for
everything from belt buckles, to guitars, to furniture to serving
trays.
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Ancient
Greeks collected
shells to decorate their gardens and fishponds.At
the height of the Rococo era, real shells
for decoration became vogue. Shells were especially used to make, little
houses and grottos in the gardens and parks of great chateaux and houses
in France and England.
Many Coats
of Arms (symbols of a socially prominent family)
bear shell images.
A Parting
Note and a shared memory from some good E-mail friends:
"In
Nagoya, we went to a place called Gamagory (town name) Fantasy.
It was like a shellers' Disneyland, a place covered wall to wall,
floor to ceilng in shell displays. I'm sure that it would be an
ecologist's nightmare...Dan "
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