Seashore Specimens (v). 'We have found our stay at the coast to be most productive. Father has promised that we will return here to continue our search for interesting finds after our trip to visit Great Aunt Sophronia.'
 
This is an original one-off assemblage created inside a vintage Chinese lacquered box. The box is a deep shade of burgundy red with a painted Chinese Dragon made of paua shell inlaid into the lid. Inside the lid of the box, Clara's has arranged a collection of very small objects; including a selection of paua shell fragments, a real fossilised sea urchin, (Heliophora Orbiculus), and an antique key on a teal satin ribbon. It is unclear as to what the mysterious key might belong; there was no mention of it in any of her notebooks. As the ammonite was such a large specimen Clara thought it best to place it in the base of the box, so as to ensure its safety during their next trip. This journey, as it turned out was not to be a visit to Great Aunt Sophronia after all…
I created the painted handmade paper ammonite using cotton linters pulp.
This work was included in A Curious Collection; my 2024 solo show at Sock Gallery Loughborough, as part of:
 
MISS CLARA KNIGHT’S CURIOUS COLLECTIONS: SEASHORE SPECIMENS
Miss Clara Knight, (1823-1910), was a young lady possessed of a particularly independent nature and an avid collector of all things antiquarian. Accompanying her father, an eminent Professor of Archaeology she travelled the length and breadth of the country - as they searched for wonders of antiquity, Clara compiled treasured collections of her own.
These groups of objects were found in various places along the South Devonshire coastline when Clara and her father were staying as guests of relatives; Mr Idris Knight, and his wife, Cordelia, and their small son, William. Clara found her stay to be ‘utterly delightful’ and spent a great deal of her time happily searching along the seashore and the clifftops for fascinating finds.
 
Please note this is a delicate one off piece of artwork and cannot be re-created. 
 
Dimensions:
Box when closed: W20cm, D16.5cm, H7cm
Box upright and fully opened: H20cm, W33cm,  D5cm
Not suitable for children.
Price £215
Free Post and Packaging (UK only)