"Gilding the lily"... and why not? - a selection of carved and engraved shells

 

The work of Cornelis Bellekin, circa second half of the seventeenth century.

Same as previous image.

Portrait of The Great Eastern steamship, attributed to C. H. Wood, 1861.

Portrait of the Duke of Wellington, circa 1850s.

From Guatemala/Mexico, circa 250-900 A.D.

Powder horn, Gujarat, India, circa seventeenth-eighteenth century.

Circa second half of the sixteenth century.

Two pieces by Cornelis Bellekin, circa second half of the seventeenth century. 

Engravings commemorating The Great Britain and The Great Western steamships, 1843 and 1837, respectively.

Engraving commemorating The Great Britain steamship, 1843. Also seen above. 

Same as previous image.

From New Caledonia, circa nineteenth century or earlier.

Ritual water vessel for worshiping Vishnu, India, circa eleventh century.

Indonesian? Contemporary?

The work of Cornelis Bellekin, circa second half of the seventeenth century.

Same as previous image.

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As the creator of almost a third of these items, I ought to mention one of the artists:

Cornelis Bellekin (circa 1625 - before 1711), Dutch engraver of mother-of-pearl shells and, apparently, also active as painter. Born into a family of engravers - the founder of the family, Jeremie, having settled in Amsterdam in 1608 - he specialized in the engraving of mother-of-pearl, becoming the most distinguished artist in that field.