Shell Museum Online Lecture Series: Seashells in Fashion

Following their successful June lecture about shells in art, curators Jean Burks and Kory Rogers return with a new presentation to explore how mollusks are incorporated and interpreted in items of personal adornment throughout history. From Cleopatra to Alexander McQueen, classic cameos to contemporary creations, shells have been adored by celebrities, commoners and cultures around the world. Whether used as a dye for ancient royal garments or embroidered to a contemporary evening gown, threaded on string or set in precious metals, seashells have played an important and varied role in the design and production of fashion and fashion accessories for thousands of years.

About the Speakers: Kory Rogers is the Francie and John Downing Senior Curator of American Art at Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne, Vermont, where he oversees more than 100,000 works of art and design ranging from the 18th century to the present day. Kory’s professional interests include: the American circus, wildfowl decoys, English ceramics, 19th-century horse-drawn vehicles, 20th-century and contemporary furniture design, and of course seashells. Kory earned his M.A. in the history of American decorative arts from the joint program between Smithsonian Associates, Parson School of Design and New School University in 2003.

Jean M. Burks is Curator Emerita of Shelburne Museum, where, for 20 years, she was responsible for 18th-20th-century American and European decorative arts. Prior to this, she held Curatorial positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Winterthur Museum, the National Museum of Play, and Canterbury Shaker Village. Jean received her M.A. in the history of decorative arts from the Smithsonian Institution/Parsons School of Design in New York City. After retiring to Sanibel, Jean spends her time shelling as well as volunteering on the beaches as a Shell Ambassador and in the Collections Department of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum.