Turtles are shelled reptiles found in Tamriel and Thras. They are able to swim and can float up to the surface of water.[1] Newborn turtles are considered quite meek.[2] The Sload slaughter and revive various sea creatures such as turtles and crabs to keep as pets.[3] Turtle stew is a slow roasted dish.[4]

Some are said to have summoned giant sea turtles to aid them in sailing.[5] Haj Motas[6] and the Mock Turtle are considered to be related.

Argonians have many sayings related to turtles, such as that one with a "turtle-heart" is "Hard on the outside, but soft on the inside".[7] Another phrase is "The turtle walks slowly and wears armor on her back. Her soul is cautious, just as her body is cautious."[8] Vanus Galerion likened the Psijic's policies to a "bemused turtle" that lumbers along quietly, only occasionally poking its head above the grass to check for danger.[9]
Uses and Culture

Turtle seed dolls with amber inlays by the Bright-Throats are highly sought after, both as protective talismans and works of native art; Bright- elders contend that the turtle is a powerful and unruly totem—one that sees both the very old and the very new with perfect clarity.[10][11] Turtles carved out of amber by pre-Duskfall Argonians fetch a high price from collectors.[12]

Turtle imagery is common in Hlaalu and Argonian furniture.[13] Turtle clasps crafted in the Breton style are considered cultural items. Terrapin-shell lanterns are fashioned from a polished turtle shell and lined with copper leaf.[14] Gemstone Chess Sets of 16 malachite Bosmeri pieces and 16 tiger's-eye Khajiiti pieces are mades with a turtle-shell board that folds into a box.[15] Turtle shells are often used to craft dishes, such as platters.[16] Insulated mug for hot beverages are made of turtle shell inlaid with a mother-of-pearl epigram.[17]

Dwarven Turtles are automaton used for cargo. The plastron from the construct's shell can easily be made into excellent shields. Sometime in the mid-First Era, Sotha Sil discovered a storage site containing Dwarven Turtles, and brought in stacks of their parts for use in his creations.[18] A number of Dwarven Turtle plastron shields were notably used by Refabricants, Sotha Sil's proto-factotums constructed from both Dwarven and clockwork parts.[19][20]

Mithlorn wrote: »

The turtle's incorporation probably stems from the local fauna of their ancestral city Narsis (off Lake Hlaalu, Deshaan). The swamplands of the Black Marsh begin due south too, so turtles seem to be a major component of their house's early symbology prior to their association with the merchant's scales.

Syldras wrote: »

I've also seen it as another point where the furniture of the Dunmer Great Houses borrows from real world antique Chinese furniture (which it does very, very often, at least in ESO). Turtles have been a popular motif, look at this ink tablet, for example:



Or this seal:



It's a prosperity symbol and most often related to money, by the way. Shopkeepers still like to put these things on their counter nowadays - this one, for example, is literally sitting on a stash of coins:



It's generally associated with trade and wealth, so it fits House Hlaalu quite well.