Accession No
6261
Brief Description
wax model of micro-organism Dinophyta (common name: dinoflagellates) with hand-written description labels in French, French, post-1885
Origin
France [attributed based on French labels]
Maker
Class
biology; demonstration
Earliest Date
1885
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
wax; paper
Dimensions
Diameter 10cm [roughly spherical]
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Dorotheum Auction House, Palais Dorotheum, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17, Austria. Lot 157 in Historische Wissenschaftliche Instrumente und Globen sale, 29/10/2008.
Inscription
Description Notes
wax model of micro-organism Dinophyta (common name: dinoflagellates) with hand-written description labels in French, after 1885.
Rough, spherical wax model with multiple small flat faces. Most faces have manuscript description labels in French, but at least 4 are missing and several are illegible. Around the centre of the model is a small indented line, and at the top of the model is a small circular c. 1cm deep hole.
Dinophyta were first defined by Otto Butschli in 1885, and are a type of micro-organism found in fresh and salt water, with most types being considered marine plankton.
References
Events
Description
This is a wax model of a Dinophyta (common name: dinoflagellates), a type of micro-organism first defined by Otto Butschli in 1885. Most dinoflagellates are marine plankton, but they are common in fresh water habitats as well.
This model probably dates from around 1900 and has manuscript description labels in French stuck to the many flat faces of the model.
Display label:
This is a wax model of the dinoflagellate micro-organism. When first defined in 1885, dinoflagellates were treated as a form of algae by botanists. They have since been studied by both botanists and zoologists, with each group using its own nomenclature to describe the species.
16/04/2009
Created by: Joshua Nall on 16/04/2009
FM:46736
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