Dom Pedro Caddy

Viennese goldsmith’s shop. Circa 1750.

The Dom Pedro caddy was a gift from the crown prince of Brazil to his father-in-law, Emperor Franz I, but it also symbolizes a piece of research history.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH A WEDDING
The clamshell caddy is a gift from the crown prince of Brazil, Dom Pedro de Alcântara, to his father in law, but it does not come from Brazil. It was made in about 1750 in a Viennese goldsmith’s workshop and from 1836 was displayed in the imperial and royal natural history cabinet. It is made from the polished shells of a freshwater clam – probably Batissa violacea – that is widespread in the Philippines and in Indonesia.
But an initiative of Emperor Franz I on the occasion of the marriage proved to be far more important for the future museum: “It is known that on the occasion of the wedding of Her Royal Highness Archduchess Leopoldina and her journey to Brazil in spring 1817, His Majesty gave permission for several natural scientists and artists to travel there as well, with the charge: to observe the little known natural phenomena of the country on site…”
One of the natural scientists who took part in this expedition was Johann Natterer. He stayed a total of 18 years in the “green hell” of Amazonia, collected a substantial amount of scientifically valuable material and sent thousands of previously unknown animal and plant species to Vienna. Thanks to him, the NHM today owns the oldest and one of the largest collections of Brazilian animals and plants.