Mermaid for sale: The bizarre 19th century creature that is actually half monkey and half fish
A bizarre stuffed animal purporting to be a mermaid that was brought to Britain from the Far East in the 19th century has emerged.
Made from fish and monkey parts, the odd-looking creature was one of many acquired by British sailors whose minds were tricked or amused by them.
The parts were cleverly stuck together and gave the impression it was once a genuine life form.
Few of these objects survive today but this extraordinary 12 inch long example has now emerged for sale in London for £2,500.
It is believed the ‘mermaid’ was brought to the UK from the Far East in the 19th century
In the 19th century, gentlemen had cabinets full of curiosities and exotic items such as this and apparently there is still a market for them. The mermaid is placed on a wooden plinth in a swimming pose with its arms and hands outstretched, its large eyes staring ahead and a smile on its face.
It has a tail fin, dorsal fin and anal fin with a human-looking face and thin arms leading to hands from which the webbing has fallen off. There even appears to be hair on its head but there are no obvious anatomical clues as to its supposed sex.
The mermaid is being sold by Charles Miller auctions in London on October 26. Mr Miller said: ‘It’s a very odd thing, pretty hideous really. They were brought back by sailors from the Orient.
‘They were made out there and back home they either fooled people into thinking they were real animals, or they just entertained them. Nobody is really sure.
‘Gentlemen of the day would have had cabinets full of curiosities and these would have been excellent talking points.
‘This has been consigned through a private collector and hopefully there will be buyer out thee for it.
‘People still like a talking point and while gentlemen might not have cabinets full of these things, hopefully there will be a place for it somewhere.’
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