Shells: Gems of the Sea
September 9 – January 7, 2001
June 5 – September 5, 2010
See Also: TENNESSEE FRESHWATER MUSSELS: Treasures Past and Present
"It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire."
--Robert Louis Stevenson
Collecting shells has been a pastime of many, young and old, for centuries. It is only when collecting becomes a passion rather than a pastime that the finest examples are sought, and the subject researched in detail. Such is the case with this collection, one of the country's finest, assembled by local physician Dr. Peter Stimpson. Focusing on six families of marine gastropods -- cowries, cones, conchs, harps, volutes, and olives -- the collection includes over 1,000 species listed in the Registry of World Record Size Shells. Dr. Stimpson has made a portion of his collection available for public enjoyment in this exhibition.
Most of the shells on display are those of gastropods, that is, snails. Gastropods form one of the seven classes of the phylum Mollusca. The word "mollusk," derived from the Latin mollis, meaning "soft," denotes a large, diverse group of soft-bodied animals who occupy nearly every region of the world. Numbering at least 50,000 living species, mollusks are second in number of species only to the arthropods, which includes insects. Mollusks may live in terrestrial, aquatic, or marine habitats, although marine dwelling mollusks outnumber the others. They may be carnivorous or herbivorous, predator or prey, or -- often -- both.
Most, but not all, mollusks have shells. The two largest classes are the gastropods, which are single-shelled animals, and the bivalves, which have two shells. While the exhibition focuses on gastropods, a few interesting bivalves are also displayed. Examples of mollusks without shells are the octopi and squids.
THE EXHIBITION
Shells delight and fascinate us in the visual combination of shape and color. Smooth or textured, symmetrical or not, single-hued or bearing the most complex and astounding patterns of markings, shells treat us to a remarkable display of nature's art.
 GOLDEN COWRIE Cypraea aurantium (Gmelin, 1791) Family - Cowries, Cypraeidae Philippines |
 MAJOR HARP Harpa major (Röding, 1798) Family - Harps, Harpidae Philippines |
Nowhere is the variety of complex patterns more evident than in the family of cones. Bands, zigzags, spots, and dots combine and recombine, not randomly, but according to a plan known to each species.
To even a casual observer, shapes are as distinctive as color. Some reflect the habitat and lifestyle of the animal -- a sand burrower needs a smooth, slender, and tapering shell; for life atop a muddy bottom, spines may broaden weight distribution and prevent sinking.
 BEDNALL'S VOLUTE Volutoconus bednalli (Brazier, 1878) Family - Volutes, Volutidae Australia |
 VENUS COMB MUREX Murex pecten (Lightfoot, 1786) Family - Murex, Muricidae Philippines |
Mathematicians have modeled a shell's geometry, a closed curve revolving about a fixed axis. Each gastropod species' genetic code specifies the parameters which result in the incredible array of shapes, all variations of a logarithmic spiral.
 SCORPIO CONCH Lambis scorpius (Linné, 1758) Family - Conchs, Strombidae Philippines |
 ROOSTER TAIL CONCH Strombus gallus (Linné, 1758) Family - Conchs, Strombidae West Indies |
People have used mollusks and their shells for millennia. Mollusks are a major food source still, especially in communities adjacent to the ocean. The beauty of shells appealed also to these inhabitants, and shells were, and are, collected and transformed into ornaments for both personal decoration and embellishment of clothing and other objects. Even in prehistoric times, shells were traded far from their place of origin, often becoming symbols of wealth and status.
The following are examples of marine shell objects found on prehistoric Native American sites in Tennessee. Because of their rarity as imports from the Gulf coast, they were probably status objects.
The archaeological shell artifacts in the exhibition, including those pictured below, are from the McClung Museum collections.
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MODERN HELMET SHELL and SHELL CUP 600-year-old shell cup (right) made from the marine helmet shell (Cassis madagascariensis), from an archaeological site in Meigs County, Tennessee; (left) modern helmet shell, illustrating the portion removed in the archaeological specimen. |
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PREHISTORIC NATIVE AMERICAN NECKLACE 1,000-year-old necklace from Rhea County, Tennessee. The long columella beads are cut from the central core of the marine lightning whelk (Busycon sp.), and the pendant from the whelk wall. |
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SPIDER GORGET 600-year-old engraved shell pendant manufactured from the wall of a marine lightning whelk (Busycon sp.); from an archaeological site in Hamilton County, Tennessee. |
CURATOR AND SPONSORS
- CURATOR: Shell collection loaned by Dr. Peter Stimpson
- SPONSORS: Exhibition sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, and by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; brochure sponsored by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals