Shagreen ray Shagreen ray The shagreen ray or shagreen skate or fuller's ray ("Leucoraja fullonica") is a species of skate in the family Rajidae. This ray is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from Murmansk, Russia through Norway, southern Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Celtic Sea, the northern North Sea and Skagerrak, to northern Morocco, including (infrequently) the western Mediterranean Sea and the Madeira Islands. It is absent from the shallow waters off England and Wales. Shagreen is a form of roughened untanned leather, typically dyed green and commonly made of the skins of sharks and rays. The common name "fuller's ray"
Tanning (leather) Tanning (leather) Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, making it more durable and less susceptible to decomposition, and also possibly coloring it. Before tanning, the skins are unhaired, degreased, desalted and soaked in water over a period of 6 hours to 2 days. Historically this process was considered a noxious or "odoriferous trade" and relegated to the outskirts of town. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical