<p>The placard at the Victoria and Albert Museum reads:
</p><p><b>By Abraham Lotter (master 1613, died 1626)</b>
GERMAN, Augsburg; 1618-25<b></b>
<i>Trochus shell mounted in silver-gilt, marked</i>
</p>
Mounted curiosities such as shells and hardstones were highly popular with seventeenth-century collectors. The elaboration of the mounts was thought an essential compelement to the wonder of the natural world.
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