A papier-mâché and fish skin model of a ''Feejee' mermaid

A papier-mâché and fish skin model of a ''Feejee' mermaid, the monkey head with glass eyes to a pair of bird legs and talons and fish body, possibly 19th century, 17cm high, 67.2cm long.

The 'Feejee Mermaid' was an example of a traditional art form perfected by Japanese and East Indies fishermen. They made faux mermaids by sewing the head of a monkey onto a fish body. In 1842 an example was at the centre of a famous sideshow hoax devised by P. T. Barnum and Levi Lyman.