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Originating in the sea, especially in the waters surrounding the low-lying islands of the Maldives, Cypraea moneta (sometimes confused with Cypraea annulus) was transported to various parts of Afro-Eurasia in the prehistoric era, and in many cases, it was gradually transformed into a form of money in various societies for a long span of time. Yang provides a global examination of cowrie money within and beyond Afro-Eurasia from the archaeological period to the early twentieth century. By focusing on cowrie money in Indian, Chinese, Southeast Asian and West African societies and shell money in Pacific and North American societies, Yang synthsises and illustrates the economic and cultural connections, networks and interactions over a longue durée and in a cross-regional context. Analysing locally varied experiences of cowrie money from a global perspective, Yang argued that cowrie money was the first global money that shaped Afro-Eurasian societies both individually and collectively. He proposes a paradigm of the cowrie money world that engages local, regional, transregional and global themes.

Shell money. --- Money --- Cowries. --- History.

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This study examines the role of cowrie-shell money in West African trade, particularly the slave trade. The shells were carried from the Maldives to the Mediterranean by Arab traders for further transport across the Sahara, and to Europe by competing Portuguese, Dutch, English and French traders for onward transport to the West African coast. In Africa they served to purchase the slaves exported to the New World, as well as other less sinister exports. Over a large part of West Africa they became the regular market currency, but were severely devalued by the importation of thousands of tons of the cheaper Zanzibar cowries. Colonial governments disliked cowries because of the inflation and encouraged their replacement by low-value coins. They disappeared almost totally, to re-appear during the depression of the 1930s, and have been found occasionally in the markets of remote frontier districts, avoiding exchange and currency control problems.

Shell money --- Cowries --- Slave trade --- Monnaie de coquillage --- Cauries --- Esclaves --- History --- Commerce --- Histoire --- Cowries. --- Shell money. --- Slave-trade --- History. --- Arts and Humanities --- Cowry shells --- Cypraeidae --- Cypraeids --- Littorinimorpha --- Money

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A captivating historical look at the cultural and artistic significance of shells in early modern EuropeAmong nature's most artful creations, shells have long inspired the curiosity and passion of artisans, artists, collectors, and thinkers. Conchophilia delves into the intimate relationship between shells and people, offering an unprecedented account of the early modern era when the influx of exotic shells to Europe fueled their study and representation as never before. From elaborate nautilus cups and shell-encrusted grottoes to delicate miniatures, this richly illustrated book reveals how the love of shells intersected not only with the rise of natural history and global trade but also with philosophical inquiry, issues of race and gender, and the ascent of art-historical connoisseurship.Shells circulated at the nexus of commerce and intellectual pursuit, suggesting new ways of thinking about relationships between Europe and the rest of the world. The authors focus on northern Europe, where the interest and trade in shells had its greatest impact on the visual arts. They consider how shells were perceived as exotic objects, the role of shells in courtly collections, their place in still-life tableaus, and the connections between their forms and those of the human body. They examine how artists gilded, carved, etched, and inked shells to evoke the permeable boundary between art and nature. These interactions with shells shaped the ways that early modern individuals perceived their relation to the natural world, and their endeavors of art and knowledge.Spanning painting and print to architecture and the decorative arts, Conchophilia uncovers the fascinating ways that shells were circulated, depicted, collected, and valued, during a time of remarkable global change.

Shells. --- Collectors and collecting --- History --- Abraham Bloemaert. --- Adage. --- Adriaen Coorte. --- Aestheticism. --- Ambonese. --- Art history. --- Automaton. --- Balthasar van der Ast. --- Baruch Spinoza. --- Bernard Palissy. --- Chinese ceramics. --- Cittarium pica. --- Clara Peeters. --- Classical mythology. --- Cockle (bivalve). --- Collecting. --- Colonialism. --- Conchology. --- Cornelis. --- Crustacean. --- Depiction. --- Desiderius Erasmus. --- Dora Maar. --- Dutch Golden Age. --- Early modern Europe. --- Early modern period. --- Emblem book. --- Emblem. --- Engraving. --- Ephemerality. --- Erudition. --- Exoskeleton. --- Exoticism. --- George Vertue. --- Good Housekeeping. --- Govert Flinck. --- Greek mythology. --- Grotto. --- Handbook. --- Hendrik Goltzius. --- Hieronymus Bosch. --- Horseshoe crab. --- Illustration. --- Illustrator. --- Interior design. --- Jacob Cats. --- Jacques Callot. --- Jan Luyken. --- Jan Steen. --- Joachim Wtewael. --- John Lightfoot (biologist). --- John Tradescant the Younger. --- Kara Walker. --- Karel van Mander. --- Lacquer. --- Landgrave. --- Leonardo da Vinci. --- Levinus Vincent. --- Literature. --- Lucas van Leyden. --- Malacology. --- Martin Kemp (art historian). --- Michel de Montaigne. --- Mourning. --- New Thought. --- Petrarch. --- Petronella Oortman. --- Pierre Belon. --- Pieter de Hooch. --- Pinnidae. --- Pliny the Elder. --- Porcelain. --- Precious coral. --- Printmaking. --- Publication. --- Reginald Scot. --- Renaissance art. --- Rijksmuseum. --- Ruler. --- Shell money. --- Spanish Netherlands. --- Spontaneous generation. --- Statue. --- Still life. --- Suetonius. --- Superiority (short story). --- The Decoration of Houses. --- The Discoverie of Witchcraft. --- The Travels of Marco Polo. --- Treatise. --- Turbo marmoratus. --- Ulisse Aldrovandi. --- Vinegar. --- Visual culture. --- Wampum. --- Wenzel Jamnitzer. --- Whelk. --- Work of art. --- Writing. --- Young Man with a Skull.