Historic Treasure of the Week - August 30, 1992
By Jan Buffington
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - August 30, 1992
By Jan Buffington
Vigo County Historical Society
Sea shells, crafts will always be part of life
Fads come and go but sea shells and shell crafts are here to stay.
Most people are fascinated with any shell they may find while walking along a beach. They take them home to display or to make into useful or decorative items for the home.
Victorian women spent a lot of time during their summers at the short, gathering and cleaning shells for their winter craft projects. Even ladies of high society engaged in the hobby.
The Duchess of Richmond and her daughters completely covered the walls and ceiling of a room in their house with shells. The Duchess of Portland asked Mary Delaney (the best known craftswoman of her century) to use shells to decorate a grotto and chapel.
Magazines printed articles about how these normally dainty and faint-hearted Victorian ladies could find the nicest shells for their projects. A craft book of the 1870s gave these instructions:
"When the tide is low, the collector should be arrayed in stout rubber boots and waterproof leggings and with a long-hooked staff or rake, a light hatchet and strong sharp knife, wade out amongst the rocks and pools and search the crevices and ledges of overhanging rocks. Every loose stone must be turned over."
It even suggested the collector use a crochet hook to extract sea life from the shells.
Tiny shells were made into small baskets, tiaras, and fine detail on figurines. Small shells were glued to picture frames, hand mirrors and other useful or decorative objects. Medium shells decorated mantles or were used in shell flower arrangements. The large shells were used as book ends, paper weights, table decorations, etc.
"Pearl shell" (what we call mother of pearl) was used to cover boxes, albums, and objects made of papier-mache and wood.
Not many people took on large projects such as rooms, grottos or chapels, but some did fashion shells into arches, trees or even breath-taking ornaments for a garden. Many mantle clocks were encrusted with shells, and shell models resembling Greek temples and Roman coliseums, obelisk and castles were made or purchased to trace a parlor table or mantle.
The shell form has been the model for objects made of china, porcelain, ceramics and other mediums.
The historical treasure is a vase or planter using two shell shapes.
For the base, the artist used the shape of a cockle shell and painted it gold. On that shell is a replica of the famous Dolphin Fountain from Florence, Italy, which depicts mythological fish cavorting on the water (but in this case, on the shell). The fish tail holds a large Nautilus shell. It is white with gold and turquoise to highlight the fish, sea weed and other figures on the vase.
The words, "Fischer J. Budapest," are stamped on the bottom.
I think whoever gave this vase to the museum must have cared for it a great deal because it is in very good condition. You can find it in the Victorian Parlor on the second floor.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.