CORINNA DOWNES: The Buxton Mermaid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17038668 - for BBC news story and pics of Buxton Mermaid

Also history mag:
Origins of the Buxton Mermaid under investigation
A team of researchers from the University of Lincoln is conducting tests to determine the origins of the Buxton Mermaid.The mermaid, an exhibit at the Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, looks to be an example of the creatures that fishermen in Japan and the Far East made and then sold to supplement their income. Exhibits of this sort were hugely popular at London side-shows in the mid-19th century.

The team has already completed some tests on the mermaid, and believe that until 1982 it was twinned with a merman at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, in London. They have also concluded that the mermaid’s hair is human, while the upper body is layered upon a structure of wood and wire. The teeth are carved bone while the eyes are mollusc shells, although the composition of the torso is yet to be determined. Monkey, often used in these cases, has been ruled out. The mermaid will be reunited with her mer-mate for an exhibition at the Buxton Museum and Art Gallery from 19 March–13 May 2012.
http://www.historyextra.com/17-2