The mold for this pewter casting was taken from a young horseshoe crab that washed up on a Cape Cod beach.
Horseshoe Crabs are among the world's oldest and most fascinating creatures. They are estimated to be at least 500 million years old. The earliest Horseshoe Crab species were crawling around the Earth's shallow coastal seas for at least 100 million years before the dinosaurs even arrived, which was about 200 million years ago. Since that time, the Earth's landmasses have shifted dramatically, and thousands of other species have come and gone, but Horseshoe Crabs survived and today remain much as they were those millions of years ago.
People have used Horseshoe Crabs for centuries. More recently they have been instrumental to scientific research that has contributed significantly to human health. Still today, when people see for the first time this strange creature with an armored shell and spiked tail, it is often with trepidation, along with the question, "What is that thing". Meet the Horseshoe Crab!
Jeff Mitchell, the artist, is a retired Electrical Engineer who also washed up on the beach in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Mass. While still working in the Boston suburbs, Jeff took up metal casting as a hobby, and now recreates creatures from the waters around Cape Cod in a high grade, lead-free pewter.
The Horseshoe Crab is also available in a larger size. The top of the crab is beautifully detailed; the underneath is simplified to allow casting.
This small horseshoe crab measures 2-7/8" wide x 5-1/2" long, and weighs 4.8 oz.