MAGA-ZINE: March 2022: Scallop Ceramic Bowl by Joesph Bull

The understanding of the word scallop nowadays is synonymous with its meat - cheffy seafood,but the ribbed shell has been steeped in symbolism and iconic branding since the time of ancient Greece. In fact the earliest record of scallops is from the Triassic period, over 200 million years ago.

The scallop shell is symbol of light associated with the Goddess Aphrodite - Venus to the Romans.

In the Roman era, the scallop was a symbol of the sea, fertility and pilgrimage. The sea goddess Venus was carried to shore on a scallop shell and it was this mythological image that inspired Sandro Botticelli to Paint the most famous scallop shell in the history of art The Birth Of Venus.  

The Birth of Venus was painted in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown. The painting, commissioned by the Medici family is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

In Christianity, the naked goddess Venus symbolises the purity of the Madonna. 

‘Once draped in earthly garments she becomes a personification of the Christian Church which offers a spiritual transport back to the pure love of eternal salvation. In this case the scallop shell upon which this image of Venus/Eve/Madonna/Church stands may be seen in its traditionally symbolic pilgrimage context. Furthermore, the broad expanse of sea serves as a reminder of the Virgin Mary's title stella maris, alluding both to the Madonna's name (Maria/maris) and to the heavenly body (Venus/stella). The sea brings forth Venus just as the Virgin gives birth to the ultimate symbol of love, Christ.’  - wikipedia 

In Celtic Europe Aphrodite became the Celt goddess Bridgette who’s shrine at Santiago de Compostela in turn became the Christian shrine of St James. Due to its shape, the shell was used to scoop food and water as this was easily carried along the trail. Today the Camino pilgrimage is more popular than ever and pilgrims wear the scallop badge as a sign of salvation

or more profanely ‘been there got the T shirt.’

Interestingly, symbols of scallop shells are connected to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi “born from the churning of the ocean.” It is not surprising that the humble scallop weaves through time, religion and mythology as not only does the scallop date back to the earliest millennia, it inhabits every ocean on the planet.

The scallop continues its symbolic life in modern art. Maggi Hambling’s huge steel sculpture Scallop (2003), sits on a shingle beach near Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The sculpture is a tribute to composer Benjamin Britten who lived in Aldeburgh and walked daily along the beach. The edge of the main shell is pierced with the words, "I hear those voices that will not be drowned", taken from Benjamin Britten's opera 'Peter Grimes'. 

Perhaps the most widely recognised scallop image of all time is the commercial logo for Shell-pic. This logo is known as the 'pecten' after the sea shell Pecten maximus (the giant scallop.) The yellow and red colours used are thought to relate to the colours of the flag of Spain, as Shell built early service stations in California, previously a Spanish colony.

Josephs bowl with its deep sea green glazes, alludes to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus

but also speaks of the humble pilgrim, simple and functional.