A POLISHED AMMONITE

Madagascar

24cm wide

Provenance: The Museum of Curios, Cornwall.

The Museum of Curios collection was started in the 1930’s by Dr Palmer Ph.D. of Gloucester. Phillip Henry Douglas Palmer collected bizarre and wonderful artefacts all his life. He worked as an administrator for the National Health Service where he came into contact with many retired doctors and physicians. These encounters led him to amass a huge collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century anatomical models and curios from all over the world. Over the years he sold, swapped and dealt to collectors all over Europe increasing an already huge private collection of 2047 artefacts, which was housed in his small office at home in Downderry, Cornwall. Dr Palmer met Mr Robert Hudson in the early 1990's through his daughter Alison, and together they combined their collections and set up the Bizarre and Weird Museum in Newquay, Cornwall, which was to eventually hold some 4000 rare and unusual artefacts which were rotated for display. In 2006 the museum building was sold but a small number of artefacts remained in the collection, including this piece.