Pearls in Berlin museum

[CLICLASP]

Hello PG friends;
Everyone here is very well trained about pearls in history, I guess. If not, you can check more about here :
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/pea...lay-again.html
and here :
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/pea...ut-pearls.html

Below are 2 photos taken in 2 different Museum ; now are the questions :
First : which photo was taken in Berlin and where from is the other one?
Or to say things in a different way, we can see the way to look at shells may vary from countries

Second question :
which animal are the shells from, and what is it about ?

Third question : do these shells produce pearls ? (if you don't know browse the forum ...)

... play again

[Caitlin]

Well, finally a question I can answer! But I will give others a chance first.

[Ashley]

Oh! Oh! I know I know!
But like Caitlin, I think I'll wait to see what the others have to say lol

I do absolutely adore the decorative carving on the shells, though! Just beautiful! What a treat to see in person- you simply must post more (secretively taken I presume?) photos! Any other pearly treats for us?

[CLICLASP]

secretively taken I presume?

Not at all, taking photos is allowed without flashes in all museum where I did.
I even gave them to illustrate the history section of the forum, so they were not secretively taken at all !!
Yes it is very pleasant to see treasures in real, but there are a lot to see in USA too, when do you start a thread on pearls in USA museum ? LOL

[Ashley]

That is a really good idea CliClasp- I'll see what they've got at the Getty and the Natural History Museum sometime soon! Although, we're not really allowed to take pictures here (or maybe that's just artwork getting exposed to flash-lighting?? I have no idea...)

[CLICLASP]

Oh! Oh! I know I know!
But like Caitlin, I think I'll wait to see what the others have to say lol

So ??? a Tridacna of course, now what about the remaining questions ?
Who will answer first ?

[Hanaleimom]

So ??? a Tridacna of course, now what about the remaining questions ?
Who will answer first ?

I was thinking of that, but too chicken to embarass myself. Yes giant clam can produce pearls, for example, Pearl of Lao Tzu. I was fortunate to see these shells in person on my honeymoon. The hotel sinks were made of these shells.

Here is a very pretty picture of the clam http://animals.nationalgeographic.co...es/giant-clam/

[Ashley]

First : which photo was taken in Berlin and where from is the other one?

Alright- this one I was truly clueless about, but I'm going to take a stab at it anyways: The top image is from the Berlin Museum, the Deutsches Historisches Museum, more precisely which houses the Natural History Museum in central Berlin. I've included a picture of the outside of the museum, which is all tinted glass and very modern.

The second shell is from (and this is a complete guess!!) is from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK; the collection spans over 5,000 years of recorded creative history, featuring artifacts from all over the world, including all of Europe, North and South America, Asia and Northern Africa (Egyptian Art, etc), as well as one of the largest collections of Italian Renaissance Art outside of Italy.

So- do I get the prize

[CLICLASP]

So I am amazed by such a precise answer !
Yes the first is from Berlin, much damaged but very interesting.
and the second one is from London ; everyone could have found it because I posted here already (I told you to check at the beginning of the thread ... )

http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/pea...html#post61032

So German museum shows the Tridacna "head" down, and English museum "head" up

Both Tridacna shells coming from the Red Sea, about 700 BC old. They served as cosmetics container.
The "umbo" (hinge of the shell valves) was engraved as a mermaid face.

[CLICLASP]

Now about the museum, I checked again and London photos were taken at the British musem, this I am sure because I quoted to avoid mixing museums ; here is the permalink :
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/pea...html#post63204

Berlin : I went only at the Pergamonmuseum and that's were all photos have been taken.

http://www.berlin.de/orte/museum/per...m/index.en.php

2 wonderful places for ones who love museum... But the ones you mentioned are fantastic too !

Ashley, don't be sorry, you got the prize for sure
Prize will be on the next post ...

[CLICLASP]

And of course the Tridacna may produce pearls very rarely, as we have been teached about already

http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/nat...you-think.html

This time Hanaleimom won the prize !!

[Nora]

I've included a picture of the outside of the museum, which is all tinted glass and very modern.

Designed by I.M. Pei who did the pyramid entrance to the Louvre and many other significant buildings.

Anna, the drawings on the Berlin shell are in the archaic style, fit the 700 BC date as you have said.

[CLICLASP]

Ashley' prize (and yours too )
I allowed myself to put the mermaid head up.

But sorry, there were no indication about the engravings ... Just look and enjoy

[CLICLASP]

Anna, the drawings on the Berlin shell are in the archaic style, fit the 700 BC date as you have said.

Yes for sure, I have a very precise way to take pictures to avoid confusion (anyway, nobody's perfect),
here is the legend by itself, that I don't put usually, but prefer to give the indication .
More stories later, keep posted

[Nora]

Thanks for the close-ups!
On the second photo; on the right is a winged sphinx, on the left is a running woman.