Nautilus, considered a ‘living fossil’, is a mollusc belonging to an order of cephalopods (the Nautilida) whose earliest fossil representatives date back to the Palaeozoic. It is characterised by a distinctive outer shell with a peculiar logarithmic spiral and numerous internal chambers, considered a miracle of engineering.
Nautilus shells, coming from trade with the East Indies, were well known and used in jewellery as early as the 16th century. They were decorticated to expose their mother-of-pearl layer and, worked or embellished in various ways, they often enriched cabinets of curiosities or were displayed as luxurious furnishing elements. In the spectacular setting of the grand staircase of Palazzo Cavalli, two specimens are exhibited, part of the original Vallisnerian nucleus of the museum. One is mounted on a pedestal candelabra and wrought brass decorations. The other, unfortunately incomplete, is decorated with scenes from Ovid’s ‘The Metamorphoses’.
