Ostrich Egg Cup


This is a decorative cup made from the shell of an ostrich egg and gilded in silver. It dates to 17th century Europe, although the specific country is unknown. The 1600s were a time of massive exploration and travel for Europeans. Merchant ships began to make regular routes between the Mediterranean and other continents, including Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Ostriches (and their eggs) were only one of the exotic species that amazed European consumers. Globalized trade introduced thousands of previously unavailable natural resources. In some cases, animal-based products like elephant ivory or ostrich eggs were more popular (and more practical) than their live counterparts. In other cases, the animal itself was a commodity. Nobility often exchanged big cats or monkeys as gifts and kept them in sprawling private zoos. Some collectors also trained and bred exotic birds.
A white ostrich egg that has been transformed into a cup by adding a silver frame, base, handles, and an ornament on the lid. That ornament is oval-shaped and engraved with the monogram "EGJ." Ostrich Egg Cup  Unknown Artist  Possibly English  17th century CE  Ostrich egg and silver gilding  11 7/16 × 8 3/4 × 4 5/8 in. (29.1 × 22.2 × 11.7 cm)  Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Evan F. Lilly Memorial  72.51.3




Resources

Resource 1

fan.jpg

This is a brisé fan from the early 20th century. The word “brisé” means that the fan doesn’t have pleated fabric holding it together. Instead, this fan fills the gaps with plumes of ostrich feathers attached to ivory sticks. This fan is an excellent example of “exotic luxury” in western products. The ostrich feathers were taken from birds in Africa, and the ivory could be from a variety of places, including Pacific Ocean whales, fossilized mammoth remains, or (most likely) elephants in Africa or Asia.  
 
Today, ostrich feathers are still common in fashion and there is currently no restriction on their sale. However, the over-hunting of elephants has led to a global ban on ivory trade for the last 30 years. In some countries, even antique ivory cannot be sold. In other countries, ivory must be registered as an artifact before it can be purchased, borrowed, or displayed in a collection. The brisé fan is protected from American trade bans because it is over 100 years old.

 

Resource 2

The Platypus Quarrel- SYMHC 

Ostriches were relatively easy for European explorers to find and identify, mostly because of their size. However, not all animals were this easy to track down. The platypus in Australia was one of the most difficult animals for western naturalists to understand. “The Platypus Quarrel” is a history podcast episode from the Stuff You Missed in History Class channel on iHeart Radio that tells the story of Europeans “discovering” the platypus and trying to understand it as one of the most complicated mammals on Earth. 

Note: This podcast is best for secondary school students. In order to discuss scientific classification of the platypus, this podcast talks about platypus anatomy that may not make sense until high school-level biology. It also includes general discussion of unethical killing of platypuses for scientific use.

Resource 3

The Tower of London Menagerie 

The Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London was a personal zoo for the British crown. Running from 1235 to 1835, the menagerie was responsible for housing the exotic animals given to the king as presents from dignitaries. The display featured a polar bear, an elephant, some monkeys, many bird species (including ostriches), and several big cats over its 600-year run, along with hundreds of other creatures. This was not a safe environment for the animals. Many of them died after short periods in captivity. The big cat species survived and reproduced well in their enclosures, but they were violent and killed several humans. The Menagerie finally closed in 1835, as the new London Zoo was built, and the animals were either sent there or sold to new owners. None of the creatures were returned to their natural habitats, in large part because a life in captivity rendered them unable to survive in the wild.