True Heart Cockle

About

The True Heart Cockle is inspired by the 19th century pioneer naturalist, marine biologist, zoologist, evolutionist, philosopher and artist… Ernst Haeckel. His fascination with marine life is captured in exquisitely rendered illustrations of Radiolaria, Siphonophorae, Calcareous Sponges, Medusae, Deep-Sea Keratosa and in the Art Forms in Nature. These images are considered scientific, artistic and environmental masterworks.

This porcelain rendering of the True Heart Cockle holds the love of Haeckel for his wife. On his 30th birthday Haeckel lost his wife to a burst appendix. The grief led him to seek consolation in nature, taking walks along the Mediterranean coast where one day, he came upon a jellyfish lying in a rockpool. The delicate yellow tentacles reminded him of his wife’s blonde hair, and he named the creature Mitrocoma annae in tribute to his wife, Anna. Haeckel continued to name marine organisms after Anna throughout his life and his deep love for her, lived on in his tireless and prolific study of the marine world.

Porcelain hearts. Specifications: Small hearts 16x13.5cm, Colours: Lustrous Sea blue, lustrous deep blue, lavender, bronze. Large heart 36x34cm, Colour: Lustrous Sea blue