Monstrous Seahorse in blue & silver filigree Victorian dress made from dyed

made from dyed

stitched by hand on 8x10 inch watercolour paper

This parasol is based on a design from Bloomingdale Bros

It features a fitted bodice and a skirt with a small bustle

Monstrous Seahorse in blue & silver filigree Victorian dress made from dyedYou are probably looking at this creature and thinking, Judith, thats clearly a Hippocampus, and you would be correct! But the book I found it in called it Equus marinus monstrosus, which translates as Monstrous seahorse. And who can resist a name like that? The book is the delightfully named Monstrorum historia, or History of Monsters, by Ulisse Aldrovandi; it dates from 1642. My monstrous seahorse is 4. 75 inches wide, stitched by hand on 5x7 inch