MAQ Magazine n. 13 / July 2019
This picture gives us more surprises: the shells are part of a positive collective symbolism; in Greek and Roman myths they were similar to the prosperity of fertility and became a symbol of the mother's womb and the birth of the goddess Venus or Aphrodite. Many ancient paintings, such as "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli, depict and identify the goddess with a shell.
If we shift our gaze slightly to the right we find the turtle that represents strength, tenacity, resilience, longevity; for the Indians of North America the tortoise represents the world above and below us and gives rise to the creation of the Earth; in Maori culture it symbolizes family, fertility, for the Japanese the tortoise is a symbol of happiness and fortune.