Mystery of the mummified mermaid

Freaks, wonders and curiosities were all the rage a hundred or so years ago.

And this odd, mermaid shaped creature certainly looks like something that the one-time purveyor of weird and wonderful phenomena, Charles Fort (1874 - 1932) might have come up with, but apart from it dating from around the time Mr Fort titillated the public with his wisdom, its provenance is largely unknown.

Whilst it is known that the object is not what it appears to be (a miniature mermaid) and is almost certainly a product of nineteenth century ingenuity, researchers at Lincoln University are attempting to discover the origins of the ‘Buxton Mermaid’ – named as such due to its discovery at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery by student Anita Hollinshead.

"It really does look like a mummified mermaid," said Ms Hollinshead. "A lot of skill has gone into making it and whoever put it together really thought about what materials to use to make it look real. It's made from wood and wire and a protein coating has been used to make it look like skin and fish like."

What has also been established is that the hair is human and the tail is actually that of a real fish.

One possible explanation is that the fake mermaid was one of several created in the Far East and then sold to sailors as a good luck charm or to collectors who would display them as curiosities in side-shows and apothecaries.

Happily, the mermaid does have male company, for a merman is held by the Horniman Museum in London and the two are set to be reunited at an exhibition at the Buxton Museum and Gallery next month.

Which goes to show that the old saying 'there's someone out there for everyone' is perfectly true – very apt in a week which saw the romantic shenanigans of Valentine’s Day.