Adriaen Coorte was one of many Dutch artists in the 16th and 17th centuries who painted exotic shells brought home to Europe by traders and explorers. In the Art exhibit of the Culture & Creativity section of the newly renovated Great Hall of Shells at the National Shell Museum & Aquarium we tentatively identified the five species included by Coorte in his 1698 painting Still Life with Seashells.
Additionally, we included shells from the Museum collection in the exhibit for comparison with the artist’s renditions. They are, in clockwise direction from bottom left in the image below, the Panther Cowrie (Cypraea pantherina), West Indian Top Snail (Cittarium pica), Caltrop Murex (Murex tribulus), Strawberry Top Snail (Clanculus puniceus) (two shells), and Flamingo Tongue (Cyphoma gibbosum).
