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In search of the earliest images of symmelia in works of art
Author(s) -
Schwartz Charles E.,
Stevenson Roger E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part c: seminars in medical genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.419
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1552-4876
pISSN - 1552-4868
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.c.31856
Subject(s) - alias , art , pottery , literature , art history , visual arts , computer science , database
Symmelia (alias sirenomelia, mermaid malformation) is one of the most distinctive malformations which, not surprisingly, has attracted the attention of many artists, writers and other observers of the human condition. Works of art depicting symmelia date back at least two millennia. Some are anatomically based while others are more fanciful creations intended to stir the imagination. The figure of Atargatis as a mermaid on a first century BC coin is one of the earliest known images of symmelia. A nearly 2000‐year‐old Native American pottery figure representing an infant with symmelia is another.