Pair of carved seashells from Port Blair 1915

Code: CE148

Dimensions:

A pair of carved and polished turbo shells from Port Blair, dated 1915. The shells are decorated with elaborate pierced patterning. One is carved with "Home Sweet Home"; the other with "Port Blair 1915". 

Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Historically it is known for housing a large penal colony, including an infamous cellular jail, with a notoriously brutal regime. The penal instituations were closed following WWII.

As these shells came back to England at some point, it seems likely that they were carved by someone serving in Port Blair, possibly a British civil servant with some responsibility for administration of the penal institution, who eventually returned to England. Of course we will never know who did fashion them, but it's an interesting thought.