Seaman's work of a chimera or mermaid. Antwerp, dated 1869, unusual preparation of a ray, prepared to resemble a mummified, humanoid sea creature, mounted on a black wooden base. Height: approx. 50 cm. These dried and prepared specimens from the ray family (Rajiformes), also known as Jenny Hanivers, are supposed to represent supposed sea creatures, but have in fact been transformed by human hands into grotesque devil figures, angels or dragons. Originally, Antwerp sailors probably made these figures to earn extra money by selling them. The name is probably derived from the French jeune d'Anvers (girl from Antwerp), which was then personalized by British sailors to Jenny Haniver. The earliest known depiction of a Jenny Haniver can be found in the 1558 edition of Conrad Gessner's Historia Animalium, but it can probably also be traced back to the early Middle Ages. Some ufologists also identify her as an extraterrestrial being. An almost identical example can be found in the Collezione Alesandro Orsi, Villa Ca'Mera near Varese in Italy, illustrated in: Listri, Massimo, Cabinet of Curiosities, Das Buch der Wunderkammern, Taschen 2020, page 349. An unusual chimera or mermaid. Anvers/Belge dated 1869, a cartilaginous preparation, the mummified, mutilated carcass of a ray that was modified to resemble a monstrous, vaguely humanoid creature, mounted on ebonized wooden base. Height c. 50 cm.