This silver sculpture of a monkey riding an ostrich has an inlaid cowrie shell, giving it a pearly lustre.

In the distance, a column of hazy dust draws nearer and nearer, finally speeding past in a flurry of hoots and feathers, disappearing again into the horizon… A monkey riding an ostrich… yeah…

There’s a famous phrase: “Home is where the Silver Monkey on a Cowrie Shell Ostrich is” and, you know what? It's true. This piece is bound to be a conversation starter, if not from the brilliant gleam of the polished cowrie, then the uniqueness of the objet.

JJ came across the item as a gift for her husband’s study, a man almost impossible to buy for. In fact, if someone keeps saying “surprise me” for their birthday or Christmas, then it doesn’t get more surprising than the Silver Monkey on a Cowrie Shell Ostrich.

Monkey on Ostrich