A fine specimen of the exceedingly rare Pirhanai Conradianus,
captured in the
river and brought back to England by the explorer Marlow
as a reminder of
his lengthy expedition into the Congo, an attempt
to discover the whereabouts
of one Kurtz, an elusive character ultimately revealed as
a demonic madman.
In his journal Marlow recorded the sudden appearance of this
"large, terrifying
fish" and its"incredible splash," which "sounded as if a
gun had gone off": in
the light of subsequent events, it appeared to him that this
"lowly swimming
creature" had "brought on doom." Provenance: Collection
of Ms. Katie Ryder.
Inclusion in this exhibit made possible by a grant from
Ms. Meredith Robbins.
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