A shell with two historical lives

The twist is in the date: this is a reproduction with a story of its own.

Nautilus shell held in elaborate gilt metal mounts and supported by figures — Complete image · The Metropolitan Museum of ArtOpen full-resolution image

Look closer

Let your eye lead the way.

Look where the shell meets its metal mount.
Compare the natural spiral with the figures supporting it.
Keep the reproduction’s date in mind when returning to the full view.

The story behind the object

A pearly spiral rises above gilded figures. The first impression is of an extravagant old treasure; the second discovery is that this museum object is a nineteenth-century electrotype after an earlier Dutch original.

The Met connects the original with a seventeenth-century painting. That does not mean the photographed copy appeared in that painting. Keeping the two objects apart makes the reproduction’s own history more interesting, not less.

Original source & provenance

Institutional title: Nautilus shell
Maker / origin: Franchi and Son, London, after a Dutch original
Date: Nineteenth century after an early-seventeenth-century original
Material: Gilt metal mounts and nautilus shell
Collection / accession: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 73.8.30

The 1520 × 2000 image is smaller than the other masters. No large-poster quality, physical shell trade or ownership conclusion is offered.

View at the museum

Image & reproduction rights

The Met identifies this image as public domain under its Open Access CC0 programme. Collection research dated 2026-11-01. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession 73.8.30.

The complete master is 1520 × 2000 pixels. The smaller display copies preserve the whole image; no invented detail has been added. This is not a print-quality promise, museum endorsement or worldwide clearance of non-copyright restrictions.

Met Open Access terms · Original museum image

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