The print features a collection of marine gastropod mollusks, more commonly known as snails, each with distinctive shell shapes and ornamentations:
1. **Cérith (Cerithium)**: This is likely a depiction of a cerith, a type of sea snail with a high-spired shell and variable patterns, often found in marine and brackish waters.
2. **Rocher (Murex)**: Known for its spiny and elaborately ornamented shell, the murex is a predatory sea snail that has been historically used to produce purple dye.
3. **Apollo Gyrin (Turbinella pyrum)**: Also known as the chank shell, these snails have a heavy, convoluted shell and are significant in various cultural and religious contexts.
4. **Struthiolaire (Struthiolaria)**: Characterized by its nodulose or bumpy shell, this snail's design is quite distinct and recognizable.
5. **Fasciolaire (Fasciolaria)**: A genus of large sea snails with a spiral shell, often with a siphonal canal extending from the aperture.
6. **Ptérocère (Pterocera)**: Also known as the "scorpion conch" due to its long, finger-like projections, this snail's shell is a spectacular sight.
7. **Rostellaire (Rostellaria)**: This snail has a long, tapering shell with a developed siphonal canal, giving it a tusk-like appearance.
The print is a hand-colored engraving, a common practice in the 19th century for scientific illustration, which allowed for detailed and precise visual representation of specimens. This artistic technique served both educational and aesthetic purposes.
Bartele Gallery. Original antique maps, sea charts, engravings and works on paper. This is a plain text rendering of a page that is otherwise built in the browser. The catalogue index is at https://www.bartele.net/catalogue and machine readable notes are at https://www.bartele.net/llms.txt.