Shell Museum Introduces New Exhibition: Adorned by the Sea

provided to The Santiva Chronicle

The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum will offer a new exhibition starting June 25, titled Adorned by the Sea: Shells in Fashion.

Throughout time and around the world, shells have been used to elevate and adorn. From ancient cultures to contemporary runway couture, using shells as decorative motifs, carving them into ornamental shapes, and even attaching them in their natural form has transformed ordinary textiles into extraordinary garments. Shells have been used to represent value, nature, and even faith. Adorned by the Sea examines the diverse uses of sea shells and mollusks to enhance appearance and dress.

Pearly Kings in the East End of London, 1960s. (Photo by Steve Lewis/Getty Images)

Kent State University

Gucci, Spring 2020, Milan, September 2019

From the most expensive purple dyes made from snails to the most conceptual catwalk fantasies made of razor clams and mussels, with works spanning centuries and including a wide variety of designers from unnamed indigenous artists to Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Gucci, Adorned by the Sea offers a complete overview of how we have amplified our own image by borrowing from the wonders of marine life.

“From domestic utility to commerce to art, people have purposed and admired shells for thousands of years” said Sam Ankerson, Executive Director of the National Shell Museum. “This eye-opening visual voyage demonstrates their presence and influence in fashion from ancient Egypt to contemporary Paris.”

Adorned by the Sea will be on view through Nov. 28 in the second-floor special exhibition galleries of the museum during regular museum hours with paid admission. Also on view from June 25 to Nov. 28 is the new exhibition Mollusk Hospital: A Shell Folk Art Journey in 20 Rooms.

Adorned by the Sea is made possible by a grant from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation and a gift from Mark and Kathy Helge.

Learn more at ShellMuseum.org.

About the Museum: The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is a Natural History Museum, and the only museum in the United States devoted solely to shells and mollusks. Its mission is to use exceptional collections, aquariums, programs, experiences, and science to be the nation’s leading museum in the conservation, preservation, interpretation, and celebration of shells, the mollusks that create them, and their ecosystems. Permanent exhibitions on view include the Great Hall of Shells which displays highlights of the Museum’s collection of some 500,000 shells, as well as the Beyond Shells living gallery of aquariums and over 50 species of marine life. For more information on the Museum, please visit ShellMuseum.org or call (239) 395-2233.