Coral Brought Out of the Sea
The diversity of fossil and living corals, their structure, remarkable reef-building abilities, and striking beauty inspired this exhibition, which presents corals from both natural history and artistic perspectives. Visitors are guided from the earliest appearance of corals in Earth’s geological past through their mineral composition, structure, and biology, to their long-standing use in the creation of fine jewellery.
Alongside its scientific content, the exhibition incorporates an artistic dimension, continuing the Croatian Natural History Museum’s series of exhibitions that explore the relationship between nature and art. Coral reefs—the largest structures built by living organisms—occupy a central place in the exhibition.
The exhibition aims to present the biology, diversity, distribution, and conservation of corals while also exploring the many stories, legends, myths, and beliefs associated with them. Objects from other museum collections further illustrate the presence of coral in human life from the earliest civilizations to the present day.
A special section is dedicated to the tradition of coral harvesting and jewellery making. Particular attention is given to the island of Zlarin, Croatia’s historic centre of coral craftsmanship and the birthplace of poet Vesna Parun. Inspired by the title of her poetry collection Coral Returned to the Sea, the exhibition symbolically brings coral “out of the sea” and presents it from a new perspective.
Authors of the exhibition:
Nediljka Prlj Šimić
Katarina Krizmanić
Irena Grbac
Authors
Nediljka Prlj Šimić, Katarina Krizmanić, Irena Grbac