Lidded Bowl with Iguanac. 600–1100 (Thermoluminescence date, 995–1395)Costa Rica, Southern Nicoya regionceramic, slipCleveland Museum of Art It is believed the iguana’s regional symbolism was linked to both rulership and the solar realm, and here we see the iguana is portrayed as if basking in the sun, but also with an…
The Vatican Loggia’s “Raphael Rooms” have long been noted for their immense variety of flora and fauna depicted, including many exotic species. Believed to have executed primarily by Rafael’s associate Giovanni da Udine (1487-1564) between 1517-1519, this artistic menagerie is thought to be an artistic catalog of the real-life menagerie…
Happy #WorldOrangutanDay! There are currently three living species of Orangutan recognized in the genus Pongo, all of which are unfortunately critically endangered: the Bornean Orangutan (P. pygmaeus, with three subspecies), the Sumatran Orangutan (P. abelii), and the Tapanuli Orangutan (P tapanuliensis). Andy Warhol selected the orangutan as one of ten…
Here’s another piece from the Ancient Americas gallery at the Reading Public Museum…“Owl Supernatural Decapitor” needs to be someone’s new goth metal band name In Moche art, birds of prey are sometimes depicted as Supernatural Decapitators who sever the heads of sacrificial victims. This Decapitator Owl has a face with…
Maybe this frog wouldn’t look so happy if it could read what George Shaw wrote about it in its accompanying description: “Should inquiry be made, which is the ugliest animal yet known to exist? The creature here represented might perhaps with justice be proposed as an answer: an animal of…
It’s #WorldLionDay! So, which medieval lion are you today? (I think I’m #8) Ok, but which medieval embroidered lion are you today? (#8 for me again) As noted on the lion’s page on the Medieval Bestiary website, the lion was the king of the beasts and thus was usually the…
I’ve been going through my photos from all my museum visits from the past few years, and came across these photos I took of a fun find from the Met. The Met’s catalog of the Robert Lehman Collection suggests that the painting was inspired in part by Matisse’s Bathers with…
Horseshoe crabs have been swimming in earth’s oceans for a long time…their fossil record goes back at least 480 million years! This card illustrates the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus), one of four still-living species and the only one native to the Americas.(Also, their common name is misleading — they…
Coins of Aegina depicted images of sea turtles on their coins when the island of Aegina was the supreme sea power among the Greek city-states. The sea turtle, seen here on the front (obverse) of this coin, represented its naval strength and resiliency. After its defeat by Athens in 458…
