Lockdown creativity:

Recreating an iconic scene
of Jurassic sea life

By the Sedgwick Museum

Early in lockdown, the Getty Museum challenged social media users to recreate artworks from its collection using household objects. 

Here in the Sedgwick Museum we responded by challenging ourselves and our social media followers to recreate a famous painting, Duria Antiquior, which hangs in our Museum.  Using the hashtag #DIYDuria, we collected ammonites, belemnites and ichthyosaurs made from teaspoons, vegetables, Lego and more.  Here they are! 

Ammonites, belemnites and icythyosaurs

Ammonites are extinct marine animals. They are cephalopods like squid, octopus and cuttlefish but, unlike them, ammonites had a hard, coiled external shell. Ammonite shells were divided into chambers and the animal lived in only the last chamber.

Belemnites are extinct marine animals. They are cephalopods and closely-related to today’s squid and cuttlefish. They had a squid-like body but, unlike modern squid, they had a hard internal skeleton and this is what we find in the fossil record.

Ichthyosaur means "fish lizard". Despite their name, ichthyosaurs are actually extinct marine reptiles and not related to fish or lizards.

Purple crochet ammonite shell
Ammonite made from LEGO
LEGO wheel with ammonite shell drawn on top
Ammonite shell cookie
Pink crochet ammonite shell photographed on top of ammonite fossils
Ammonite fossil-shaped pizza
Ammonite shell drawn on carboard with a hole cut out where the ammonite's head would be. A dog is putting its head through the hole
Gold-coloured chocolate ammonite shell
Light blue crochet ammonite shell
Cut out paper collage version of a Duria Antiquior reconstruction of an ammonite
Duria Antiguior reconstruciton of an ammonite created using natural objects, including rocks, leaves and flowers
Ammonite created using cucumber and carrot shavings
Belemnites created using home-grown carrots and googly eyes
Item 1 of 13
Purple crochet ammonite shell
Ammonite made from LEGO
LEGO wheel with ammonite shell drawn on top
Ammonite shell cookie
Pink crochet ammonite shell photographed on top of ammonite fossils
Ammonite fossil-shaped pizza
Ammonite shell drawn on carboard with a hole cut out where the ammonite's head would be. A dog is putting its head through the hole
Gold-coloured chocolate ammonite shell
Light blue crochet ammonite shell
Cut out paper collage version of a Duria Antiquior reconstruction of an ammonite
Duria Antiguior reconstruciton of an ammonite created using natural objects, including rocks, leaves and flowers
Ammonite created using cucumber and carrot shavings
Belemnites created using home-grown carrots and googly eyes
A grey and burgundy crochet ichthyosaur
An ichthyosaur created using salt dough
A grey and blue papier mache ichthyosaur with a digital undersea background
An icyhthyosaur created with food
An ichthyosaur created using tinfoil with a digital undersea background
An ichthyosaur created using tinfoil
An ichthyosaur created using plaster
Item 1 of 7
A grey and burgundy crochet ichthyosaur
An ichthyosaur created using salt dough
A grey and blue papier mache ichthyosaur with a digital undersea background
An icyhthyosaur created with food
An ichthyosaur created using tinfoil with a digital undersea background
An ichthyosaur created using tinfoil
An ichthyosaur created using plaster

While many people focused just one of the creatures from Duria, some chose to recreate the whole painting.

Duria Antiquior recreated using household objects including pot plants, kitchen utensils, bath toys and fabric