“
I
t is perhaps a more fortunate
destiny to have a taste for
collecting shells than to be
born a millionaire,”
remarked the author Robert
Louis Stevenson, who was clearly spending
his money in all the wrong places. Catherine
the Great and Aristotle also indulged in a
spot of beachcombing, scouring the sands
for the hard exoskeletons of marine
mollusks. And who can blame them? Shells
are beautiful, plentiful and free to anyone
who strolls down to the beach. They’ve been
used as currency, inspired art and
architecture, turned into instruments, and
displayed at museums across the world.
The history of conchology, the scientific
study of mollusc shells, is full of characters
as colourful as the shells themselves.
German botanist Georg Eberhard
Rumphius gave the world its first mollusc
taxonomy in the 17th century and R Tucker
Abbott, known to everyone but his own
mother as Mr Seashell, gave conchology
mass appeal with his definitive
American
Sea Shells
tome in the 1950s. These days,
a gloriously moustachioed Belgian by
the name of Guido T Poppe is widely
considered Europe’s foremost shell expert
and dealer.
Poppe explains how, until the mid-18th
century, shell-collecting was largely the
occupation of royalty. He credits these
early royal curiosity cabinets full of seaside
discoveries as the foundation for many
countries’ natural history museums. It’s
easy to see why shell collecting was the
preserve of the aristocracy – you can’t
get competitive in the conchology scene
without clocking up some serious miles,
»
2.
Bolinus
brandaris
Where to find it:
Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Fly to:
Malaga, Murcia, Algarve/
Faro, Sicily
Why it’s so special:
At one time, this spiky
shell was used to make a
purple dye so expensive
only nobles could afford
it. It made the Roman
emperor’s toga purple
as well as the sails on his
ship. That posh bolinus
purple is still considered
prestigious today – it’s
used to make vestments
(
robes) for the clergy.
What’s it worth?
NOK22.
1.
Luria lurida
Where to find it:
Greece, Italy, France,
the Balearics and Malta.
Fly to:
Ibiza, Menorca, Sardinia,
Malta, Corfu, Corsica
Why it’s so special:
Lurida Lurida is famed as
the most beautiful of the
cowries, a group of sea
snails – happily, it’s also
the most common. Fine
specimens can be found
among the seaweed in
the Balearics. “These
shells are so glossy they
are commonly known as
porcelain shells,” Poppe
explains.
What’s it worth?
NOK40.
2.
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