#spondylus

[arthistoryanimalia]

Shell in the shape of a young bird

Maya (possibly Petén, Maya area, Guatemala), Early Classic Period, 250–500 CE

Spondylus shell w/ greenstone & obsidian inlays

6.5 x 4.9 x 2.7 cm

Princeton University Art Museum 1998-164

[rattyexplores]

Bivalves! and their many forms

Although to many people these are nothing more than pretty shells, the truth of the matter, is that these were once all individual animals. Very primitive animals mind you.

Spondylus nicobaricus

Genus Lamarcka

Genus Gafrarium

Genus Spondylus

Genus Lioconcha

Barbatia amygdalumtostum

Family Pinnidae

15/06/22

[homregeszet]

Hejőpapi kavicsbánya lelőhelyen előkerült neolitikus, zsugorított vázas temetkezés.

Kisebb és nagyobb méretű Spondylus kagylóból készült gyöngyök kerültek elő a nyak és csuklók környékéről viseleti helyzetben. A testen több helyen okkerfesték nyomát figyeltük meg.

Hajdu Melinda

Köszönet a drónfelvételért Bethlen Tamásnak!

[gemma-antiqua]

Maya jade pendant of a head with a spondylus ear plug. Source unknown,but image found on Pinterest. 

[arthistoryanimalia]

#TwoForTuesday :

Double Chambered Bottle Representing a Spondylus Shell and Strombus Shell

Moche culture, North coast Peru, 1st-7th c.

Earthenware, slip

On display at Baltimore Museum of Art (2005.31)

[arthistoryanimalia]

Another Spondylus shell ornament, Culture Jama-Coaque, Ecuadorian North Coast 500 BCE - 1530 CE, w3.4 x h6.9 cm. Museo Casa del Alabado / INPC. Listed as a "zoomorphic ornament," but the first thing it made me think of was a male Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), a native species…

[arthistoryanimalia]

#TwoForTuesday :

“Double-bodied ceramic whistling bottle. Chimu style, Peru. One half is modeled and painted in the form of a bat, the other half is a stylized spondylus shell.”

[Chimú culture: c.900-1470CE]

On display at @ AMNH NYC [41.2/7436]

[arthistoryanimalia]

Spondylus shell pendant

Chimú, 900-1470 CE

Shell & turquoise

Dumbarton Oaks PC.B.433

“According to 16th century documents, Spondylus shell was considered more valuable than gold or silver in the pre-Columbian Andes. Found in the warm waters off the coast of Ecuador, the bivalve was closely associated with concepts of fertility. Whole shells were placed in burials and agricultural fields, and skilled artists cut and polished shell to create ornaments and beads. This pendant was crafted from a Spondylus princeps valve with inlays of Spondylus calcifer and turquoise to create a design of coastal birds devouring their prey.”