The two-metre seashell ship is in the window of the FACT centre but mystery surrounds its provenance
A curious two-metre seashell ship that sat for three decades in the window of a Liverpool antiques shop has been saved following a campaign.
The sculpture is now part of an exhibition at the Liverpool FACT centre after it was bought at auction in conjunction with the Business Improvement District.
It was previously in the window of a shop in Bold Street in the city centre.
Campaigners contacted FACT and BID to save the sculpture.
Mike Stubbs, director at FACT (the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), said it "made sense" to save the ship due to the importance of investing in the "heritage and local memory of Bold Street".
"The ship itself is an artefact with a large significance for Liverpool's cultural identity," he said.
The seashell ship in the window of the abandoned antiques shop on Bold Street, Liverpool
The seashell ship was installed in the window of FACT in Liverpool on Tuesday
A close-up view of the ship's living quarters with Mickey Mouse apparently steering the vessel
Curator Catherine Cox-Field admires the seashell ship
Mr Stubbs, who said the sculpture reminds people of strong post-war hobbyism, urged people to take the opportunity to take a closer look at it.
Mickey Mouse
Studded with red costume jewellery-type stones, a gold lion and hundreds of shells, the ship has a faded paper blue Union flag at its helm.
In the living quarters, it contains a tiny glass swan sculpture and two floral sofas, with a Mickey Mouse figurine at the helm.
According to the people involved in the social media campaign, the ship was worth saving and it sold for around £800 at auction.
Michael Doran, communications manager at Liverpool Bid Company, said once it was sent to auction they felt "compelled" to intervene.
He said to lose it would have been to "lose something of the eclectic spirit" which makes Bold Street so special.
Bold Street is in the city centre and is well-known for its independent shops and restaurants.
Curator Catherine Cox-Field said the ship reminds her of childhood trinkets that could be bought at the beach.
"I love the fact that it was in the window of the antiques shop for so many years and that nobody knows much about it," she said.
