Furniture, Works of Art and Clocks - 11th January 2017
Lot 510
A model of a 'Feejee' mermaid
Estimate £500 - £800
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Description
A model of a 'Feejee' mermaid, with a stylised monkey head with glass eyes with a veiny skin covered fish body with fins, bird legs and fingers, holding a bone comb, possibly late 19th century, 22.7cm 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.