Sea Fan II Wall Plaque, Hand Cast Plaster Coral Replica

Sea Fan Wall Art Cast From an Antique Specimen

This sea fan wall art is a flat, lace-like branching fan cast from an antique Gorgonia flabellum specimen. It hangs from hooks on the back. It measures 15.75 in L x 15.75 in W x 0.75 in D. Studio White is a clean plaster white, and Fossil is a weathered stone tone.

Product Details

• Material: Hand cast plaster
• Finish: Studio White or Fossil
• Dimensions: 15.75 in L x 15.75 in W x 0.75 in D
• Weight: 5 lb
• Package dimensions: 20 in x 20 in x 3 in
• Production: Made to order in the USA, ready to ship in 2 to 3 weeks
• Note: Hand cast, so appearance may vary from piece to piece
• Product number: HP26110SW (Studio White), HP26110FOS (Fossil)

About Gorgonia flabellum

The maker casts each plaque from antique Gorgonia flabellum specimens. It brings marine beauty home without depleting coral reefs.

A sea fan is a colony of tiny animals that grow a flexible, branching skeleton. The cast keeps the mesh of fine branches that gives the fan its lace-like look.

Sea fan wall art works in a single piece or in a grid. A sea fan plaque like this one pairs with its three siblings. This plaster coral replica takes shape from a real antique specimen.

Bringing Nature Indoors

Naturalists once packed specimens from every coast and carried them home to be catalogued. Early botanists did the same with plants. Displaying a sea fan wall art is a quiet descendant of that practice. Browse more casts in our Wall Hangings collection.

Made to Order

Each piece is cast to order in the USA. Production takes 2 to 3 weeks before it ships. Hand casting means color and surface vary slightly from piece to piece. Choose Studio White or Fossil at checkout.

Placement and Care

Hooks on the back let it hang from a wall screw. Use an anchor rated for the weight of the piece. Dust it with a soft dry brush and keep it indoors.

About Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander

Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander sailed on HMS Endeavour from 1768 to 1771. Together they collected about 30,000 specimens. Around 1,300 of those were species new to Western science. Solander, a student of Carl Linnaeus, wrote notes on slips of paper that the Natural History Museum still holds.

Solander had mastered the two-part Latin naming system that Linnaeus taught. The system lets naturalists in different countries use the same name for the same animal or plant.

For More Reading from the Web

• Follow Daniel Solander and Joseph Banks as they sorted thousands of specimens on a three-year voyage: Daniel Solander: a Linnaean disciple on HMS Endeavour - Natural History Museum
• Albertus Seba, George Perry and the naturalists who catalogued shells, plants and animals from around the world: Natural Curiosities - The Metropolitan Museum of Art