The Glory of The Seas

The Glory of The Seas (Shell)

Conus gloriamaris

In the late 70’s Mr. & Mrs. J, then frequent visitors to the island of Mauritius, happened across one of the rarest and most collectible shells in the world.

The Glory of the Seas, or gloriamaris is roughly 10 to 13 centimeters long with a golden brown, fine net pattern.  Throughout most of the 19^th & 20^th centuries there were known to be less than 100 examples in the world.

Granny Hills and Grandpa started collecting shells in the late 70’s & early 80’s, and frequently visited a shell museum in La Gaulette run by a wonderful Chinese lady with immense shell knowledge.  They also bought shells from other shell collectors.  But the La Gaulette shells were extra special, for the collection held a gloriamaris – a shell that Grandpa had long wanted but could ill afford.

One day, after a highly successful night in the casino at Le Morne Brabant Hotel, father and son went to La Gaulette and bought the shell together with their winnings – some R 25 000 in those days!

The Chinese lady always packed the shells with the greatest care so that they would arrive in South Africa undamaged.  Each shell would always hold a tiny piece of paper identifying the shell with the Latin name – and most of the shells still contain these pieces of paper, identifying them from having been bought from the wonderful Chinese lady in La Gaulette!

My grandparents developed a deep love for the shells and had a pair of shell tables specially made to be able to display them for others to be able to enjoy their beauty.  An Italian gentleman by the name of Agostino Rek was commissioned to construct the tables, which are still to be found at Kanon – in the Kanon House – now residence to one of John & Hillary’s daughters and family.

J.M.Johnson