Mounted ostrich egg
In 2006, the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature entrusted Jean-Michel Othoniel with three natural curiosities (an ostrich egg, a rhinoceros horn and a bezoar) to integrate each one into one of his creations. The ostrich egg has been a recurrent element in the cabinets of amateurs since the 16th century. This example comes from the collection of the French expressionist painter Bernard Buffet (1928-1999).
For this egg, Othoniel creates a "monstrance": like the consecrated host offered to the veneration of the faithful, the object thus assembled takes on a new dimension. The work is made from Murano glass balls, a material whose plastic possibilities Othoniel has been exploring (since 1992). It is characteristic of the artist's dreamlike and colorful work.
