Furniture and Works of Art - 8th January 2015
Lot 554
A papier-mâché and fish skin model of a ''Feejee' mermaid
Estimate £300 - £500 | Hammer £4200
+ Buyers Premium
Description
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.