Fact Check

Marzipan Babies

Do photograph show miniature baby figures made of marzipan?

Published Nov. 20, 2005

Claim:

Claim:   Photographs show

miniature baby figures made of marzipan.


Status:   Real pictures; inaccurate description.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, 2005]



Is this amazing or what!!! I am so impressed, I wanted to share them.

Marzipan Babies

Thought you'd be as fascinated with these as I was. These are made with marzipan.... really unbelievable! While some of the faces may look "crafted" rather than "real", every detail is amazing, and the rest looks VERY real.













Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge



Origins:   Marzipan, a sweet paste made of ground (blanched) almonds, sugar, and eggs, and used in cake fillings, icings, and other confectionaries, is often colored and molded into all sorts of visually appealing treats that resemble miniature versions of food (or other

objects).

Human babies, however, are not something we generally consider to be a visually appealing form for edibles (particularly when presented as realistically as shown in the images above), a fact that perhaps explains the appeal of these photographs — we're drawn to them as a fascinating example of culinary and artistic craftsmanship, but at the same time we're disquieted that the thought of eating them is almost a vicarious form of cannibalism.

Fortunately, we don't have to ponder the deeper meaning of the symbolism here, because the items pictured above are not made of marzipan, nor are they edible. They're 2- to 5-inch sculptures created by artist Camille Allen (including some entries from her Shell Baby line of miniatures), and they're made from Prosculpt polymer clay and mohair. Definitely not the kind of thing most of us would find palatable.

Last updated:   5 October 2005


David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.