Turtles Are Quick to Animate Décor

By Mary Beth Karoll

Tortoise shells have been slowly making the run of design magazines. Actual antique shells present a natural choice for purists who find some solace in learning that their particular specimen lived a long, happy life before being dispatched to turtle heaven. Nevertheless, the eco-friendly decorator should be comforted that many tortoise shells on the market are fabulous fakes, equally striking when displayed above a fireplace, singularly or in pairs on a wall, or on a stand surrounded by other wonderfully eclectic accessories. With varieties ranging from albino shells to ones with markings in cream, gold, and brown to nearly black, tortoise shells add a touch of texture, pattern, and an appealing sense of natural history to a room.

Nobody displays these trophies with more panache than Los Angeles-based designer Kelly Wearstler. If you need inspiration for sophisticated seaside decor beyond compare, look to the Art Deco style South Beach luxury lair, Miami's Tides Hotel. At La Marea, the recently renovated restaurant, rows and rows of big resin tortoise shells provide a wildly unexpected decoration. Known for the sumptuous modernism of her hotel designs, Wearstler furnishes a perfectly understated backdrop in creamy neutral shades and then vamps up the glamor with glistening resin tortoise shells and other oversized elements including vintage brass palm trees and a striking sculpture of painted driftwood.

Given enough funds for such essential frivolities along with a dashing sense of style, habitues of the Hamptons do not have to journey to Fiji or the Seychelles to amass quite an impressive collection of tortoise shells, if not one large enough to rival La Marea's recherche ranks of resin shells. As he recounts in The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin enjoyed a rollicking ride on the back of a giant Galapagos turtle. Join us for a leisurely meander through some local shops to see which tortoise shells you fancy.

An African tortoise shell ready for hanging on the wall is available for $425 at Hamptons Antique Galleries in Bridgehampton. Pamela Lerner Antiques in Bridgehampton has assembled the "Tortoise Shell Brigade", a collection of seven shells from around the world, available for $1,650. On the 1stdibs website, the creator is listed as "God", which is a marvelous way of phrasing the idea, as who else could have put such artistry to life. While importing the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle, source of the decorative tortoiseshell material used for boxes, hair ornaments, and the like, is illegal now, Mecox Gardens in Southampton offers two sizes of majestic faux Hawksbill turtle shells. Also at Mecox Gardens are copies of endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle shells in a striking mottled green tortoiseshell resin.

If your eco-terrorist teen or judgmental mother-in-law takes umbrage at your fabulous faux or genuine turtle shells for being too real or too fake, you can calmly cross your fingers and make the outrageous claim that you are displaying the valuable, antique carapace of a rare "Mock Turtle". Given the fictional character's whiny, downcast demeanor in Alice in Wonderland, you might have been doing the Queen and her subjects a favor by chopping off the Mock Turtle's head and simmering his tasty flesh! Judging from Sir John Tenniel's classic illustrations, the shell would certainly be a charismatic addition to your design scheme.

Cleverly named, the Mock Turtle refers to Mock turtle soup, a less expensive and a bit less exotic substitute for that savory reptilian dish, green turtle soup. However, we fear that after reading the following description of the furry bovine ingredients, squeamish gourmets may yearn for a mock mock turtle soup made from some milder substance such as tofu to simulate the tortoise's flesh. Traditional mock turtle soup, a delicacy in its own right, is a recipe calling for a calf's head and sometimes even the hooves and tail submersed in a tasty broth splashed with plenty of Madeira wine. Apparently, the flavor approximates the tang of a turtle.

Are resin turtle shells actually the protective carapace of Mock Turtles, descended from the musical yet maudlin creature spawned by Lewis Carroll? When your so-called best friend sarcastically asks "Is that real?" while making a face and impolitely pointing at the manmade tortoiseshell proudly hanging over your mantelpiece, you might claim that you're surprised that she didn't recognize it as a Mock Turtle shell. Quote the Gryphon, who visits the Mock Turtle with Alice, and confidently state, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for asking such a simple question."

With its emphasis on the watering holes and haunts of the rich and dissipated, this article patently rejects all cutesy, cartoonish turtle knick-knacks. However, having been quite taken with a giant turtle commanding the tabletop of a charming shop in Southbury, Connecticut, it would be remiss not to admit certain classy turtles into the tasteful nest. Caught in a recent issue of Domino magazine is a great, giant golden and brown resin sea turtle sculpture from online purveyor B.D. Jeffries. Such a character would surely make you smile as he welcomed you in the foyer or hunkered down near the fireplace. A groovy, over 2 1/2 foot long ca. 1960s light-up resin turtle sculpture at John Salibello in Bridgehampton is likewise just the sort of stand-out accessory that animates any space!

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