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Exceptional clam shell (Tridacna gigas)

PHILIPPINES, PROBABLY VISAYA ISLANDS
Exceptional clam shell (Tridacna gigas)

Cites II/B (pre-Convention, 1970s)

Superb specimen, large in size and remarkable in quality, weighing about 135 kilograms.
Giant tridacna shells (also known as giant clams or taklobo in Tagalog, oktang in Palau) have fascinated mankind for centuries, becoming the subject of legends and a source of inspiration for artists of all times and from all corners of the globe, but also and above all a highly sought-after piece by collectors.
Known in Europe since the Renaissance for their use in churches as holy water basins, we find one of the best known examples in the pair offered to Francis I by the Republic of Venice, mounted on pedestals sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle in the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, but also the two brought back from the Indian Ocean by one of the Princes of Chimay in 1760 and now in the collegiate church of Saints Peter and Paul, on the Grand-Place of Chimay.
This large seashell has long been a source of food for the populations of the Indo-Pacific, but the increase in demand and overfishing have seriously threatened the survival of the species, until it was included in the list of protected species by the Washington Convention, already in 1983.
In recent years, the level of protection has increased considerably and it is almost impossible to import specimens into Europe, even those caught before the ban, so that the number of giant clams legally presented for public sale is very low at present.
Our specimen has been known in the collection of the original owner since before the 1980s and the national CITES management authority (Direction Générale Environnement) has authorized its free trade in member states as a pre-Convention specimen, an export permit will be required for all exports outside the European Union.
Expert: Iacopo Briano

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