Art History Animalia
@arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
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Zoologist exploring animal iconography via intersections of natural history with art & visual culture history. AKA Deniz (she/they), PhD student @ UD. https://linktr.ee/arthistoryanimalia
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arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
#CephalopodAwarenessDays : #NautilusNight :
Cornelis Bellekin (Dutch, c.1625-1711)
1. #Nautilus #shell w/ carved vines, 1650-1700
W 7.5 x D 6 x T 4 cm
id.rijksmuseum.nl/20087753
2. Nautilus shell carved from mother of pearl w/ floral tendrils, 1650-1700
W 6 x D 4 x T 4 cm
id.rijksmuseum.nl/20087758
"A nautilus shell decorated with vine tendrils cut from the mantle around the sides and four concentric ovals on the underside. Two female heads resting in a rosette are carved from the thickness around the navel. Signed Cbf (Cornelis Bellekin fecit). Northern Netherlands, second half of the 17th century." BK-1957-19-1 "Nautilus shell decorated with floral scrolls cut from the mantle and dolphins cut out of the thickness around the navel. Nautilus shell detached from the (separately preserved) non-original base. Northern Netherlands, second half of the 17th century. Signed Cbf." BK-1957-18-2
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nmbluk.bsky.social
It's #NautilusNight!

To shell-ebrate we have this beautiful illustration of the shell of the chambered nautilus, taken from an 18th Century book on shells by GW Knorr
hand coloured illustration of a nautilus. The top illustration shows the shell in full, and the bottom illustration shows a slice of the shell and the chmabers within.
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bhl-au.bsky.social
Tonight we observe #NautilusNight!

This image features the Nautilus pompilius which can be found near reefs in Australia as well as in sites in Micronesia and Japan. The beauty of their shells puts them at risk: they are threatened due to overfishing.

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40430192
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
Resharing for #NautilusNight
#CephalopodAwarenessDays
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
Light it up for #NautilusNight with an original Nautilus Reading Lamp by Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co. (NYC, USA), bronze & leaded glass, c. 1899-1902. [A later version would use an actual #nautilus shell for the shade.] 
Cleveland Museum of Art: clevelandart.org/art/1997.298
#ArtNouveau
official museum photo of the nautilus lamp; Bronze, leaded glass
Overall: 34.5 x 21.3 x 13.4 cm (13 9/16 x 8 3/8 × 5 1/4 in.);
DESCRIPTION Benjamin Hubbell, the architect of the Cleveland Museum of Art, acquired this vase from Louis Comfort Tiffany, with whom he collaborated on various projects. The shape of the nautilus shell provides the perfect space to conceal a light bulb, the newest form of technology at the time. As a result, this lamp was a critical success and sold both in this original form and with the later alteration of a bronze mermaid for the stand and an actual nautilus shell for the shade.
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mymodernmet.bsky.social
Every year, the Wara Art Festival invites Japanese art students to create massive sculptures with wara (or rice straw), turning the area into a seasonal tourist attraction. trib.al/t2Uv0Ud
Mythical Animals Made of Straw Take Over Field in Japan for 2025 Wara Art Festival
If you’re in Japan, you have until the end of this month to check out these incredible straw sculptures.
trib.al
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medmilmedicine.bsky.social
For Tuesday, an ‘elephant done by a medieval artist that had never seen one’ - 15th century, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 3974, f. 81r
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medmilmedicine.bsky.social
Tuesday’s ‘elephant done by a medieval artist that had never seen one’ - 15th century, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat.1726, f. 37r
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romanceofbooks.bsky.social
Mantis illustrations from ‘Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans L’Amérique Centrale: Recherches Zoologiques Pour Servir à L’histoire de la Faune de L’Amérique Centrale et du Mexique.’ Paris, Imprimerie impériale, 1868-1902.

#scientificart #naturalhistory #insectart #sciart
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romanceofbooks.bsky.social
Snake illustrations from the portfolio titled ‘Das thier in der decorativen kunst’ by Anton Seder, published in Vienna by Gerlach & Schenk in 1896.

I saw this at my work: Milwaukee Public Library!

#rarebooks #snakeart #animalart
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romanceofbooks.bsky.social
Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) and Umbrella squid (Histioteuthis bonnellii) from Charles d'Orbigny's ‘Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle’ published in Paris, 1847-1849.

I saw this at the American Geographical Society Library.

#WorldOctopusDay #rarebooks #sciart #naturalhistory #animalart
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biodiversitypix.bsky.social
😸 Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur /.
Erlangen: Expedition des Schreber'schen säugthier- und des Esper'schen Schmetterlingswerkes [etc., 1774]-1846..

[Source]
Historical illustration of a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) positioned on a bank near water with green reeds in the foreground. The animal is depicted with a dark brown, streamlined body, webbed front feet, and a distinctive broad, duck-like bill. Surrounding the main image are detailed sketches of the platypus’s skull, bill form, and a close-up of the bill's underside, highlighting anatomical features such as its bone structure and unique bill shape. The illustration combines both naturalistic color rendering and scientific line drawings to provide a comprehensive biological study of the species.
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biodiversitypix.bsky.social
🦜 A monograph of the Ramphastidae, or family of toucans
London: Published by the author, 20, Broad Street, Golden Square, [1852]-1854.

[Source]
Illustration of two toucans (Ramphastos erythrorhynchos) perched on a branch. They have large, curved yellow and red bills with black markings, striking blue skin around their eyes, black feathers covering most of their bodies, cream-colored throats, and a yellow patch near the base of their tails. Behind them are green palm-like leaves. The detailed, naturalistic style emphasizes their vibrant colors and distinctive features, typical of 19th-century scientific bird illustrations.
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roger1952.bsky.social
Tsuba (sword guard) with design of crayfish
Matsuo Gassan (Japanese, 1815–1875)
School: Ôtsuki School (Japanese)Japanese, Edo period, mid-19th century
Credit Line:Charles Goddard Weld Collection
MFA Boston
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wildlife.nathan.fun
Wild life of the world: London ;F. Warne and co., 1916. (source: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33270478) #nature #illustration #art
Wild life of the world: 
London ;F. Warne and co., 1916.
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33270478�
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wildlife.nathan.fun
Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or birds of paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, or bower-birds. London: H. Sotheran & Co., 1891-98. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48735368) #nature #illustration #art
Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or birds of paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, or bower-birds.
London: H. Sotheran & Co., 1891-98.
https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48735368�
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worldhistory.org
🐙 Today is World Octopus Day! 

🐙 A Minoan octopus, detail from a New-Palace period (1500-1450 BCE) Cretan Clay askos with 'Marine Style' decoration, (Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete). Photo by Mark Cartwright. 

#WorldOctopusDay #Octopus #History #AncientHistory #Art #ArtHistory
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linneansociety.bsky.social
Octopus macropus risso - now classified as Callistoctopus macropus. It is often known as a grass octopus and sometimes lives in seagrass meadows.

Both available as cards, prints and posters at buff.ly/aLARMoH - use LINNEAN15 for a 15% discount!
Octopus macropus. It is pink and red in colour with white spots and long, thin tentacles which curl around the border of the picture.
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linneansociety.bsky.social
It's #WorldOctopusDay! These beauties from our collection are both by French pharmacist and naturalist Jean Baptiste Vérany (1800-65).

Octopus vulgaris - the common octopus, which can grow to 9kg and change colour to match its surroundings.
Common octopus with brown and yellow colouring with hints of blue. It has yellow eyes and fills the image.
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exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social
Good morning to everyone but especially to all the octopuses, for today is their special day!

To celebrate World Octopus Day, here's an illustration of an octopus from the book 'The World of the Sea' by Moquin Tandon, published in 1869.

📷 Reserve 591.92 TAN

#WorldOctopusDay #OctopusDay #RareBooks
Cropped image showing an engraving of an octopus Full-page engraving from a book. It shows an octopus lying on the seabed, with a squid and a cuttlefish coming towards. The cuttlefish is making a cloud. The engraving is captioned: 'Plate XI. A Poulpe. A Cuttle-Fish Making His Cloud. A Calmar'.
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publicdomainrev.bsky.social
It's #WorldOctopusDay! Pictured here a “Polypus levis Hoyle” from a 1910 publication on the German Deep-Sea Expedition of 1898, led by Leipzig University Professor of Zoology, Carl Chun. Buy it as a print here: https://publicdomainreview.org/product/octopus/
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
#WorldOctopusDay 🐙:
2 amazing #octopus tsubas (sword guards) @ the Met - which is your favorite?
#CephalopodAwarenessDays
1-2 tsuba w/ octopus design, Japan, late 18th c. www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
3-4 tsuba w/ octopus design, Japan, c. 1615–1868 www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
#JapaneseArt
tsuba (sword guard) with octopus design, Japan, late 18th century, iron and copper, obverse tsuba (sword guard) with octopus design, Japan, late 18th century, iron and copper, reverse tsuba (sword guard) with octopus design, Japan, c. 1615–1868, copper alloy (sentoku), copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper-gold alloy (shakudō), silver, and gold, obverse tsuba (sword guard) with octopus design, Japan, c. 1615–1868, copper alloy (sentoku), copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper-gold alloy (shakudō), silver, and gold, reverse
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
For #WorldOctopusDay 🐙on a #Woodensday:
#Octopus and #Rat by Kuki Sii, Tongan artist
wood carving w/ shell
Sydney, Australia c.1970
+
The Rat and the Octopus book by Temukisa Lelemia, Ill. by Murray Grimsdale
Wellington, NewZealand 1998

seen on display at AMNH NYC

#CephalopodAwarenessDays
“ Octopus and rat carving
By Kuki Sii, Tongan artist | Wood, shell | Sydney, Australia, c.1970
American Museum of Natural History 80 1/7084
The Rat and the Octopus by Temukisa Lelemia
Illustrated by Murray Grimsdale I Learning Media Wellington | New Zealand, 1998
American Museum of Natural History 80 1/7209
This carving and children's storybook depict the legend of an ungrateful rat and the octopus's revenge, as told for generations in Tonga, Samoa, the Tuamotus and other islands. Storytelling links islands and shares ways of thinkitig about animals over time and space.” closeup of the rat on the octopus’ head another view of the octopus and rat sculpture (side view) closer view of the book and gallery label
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
For #WorldOctopusDay 🐙 here's a smiley octopus on a terracotta plate from Getty Museum 😀
Detail from Paestan Red-Figure Fish Plate, 4th c. BCE, attributed to the Binningen Painter
getty.edu/art/collecti...
#CephalopodAwarenessDays
Paestan Red-Figure Fish Plate (happy-looking octopus detail)
attributed to the Binningen Painter
3rd quarter of 4th century BCE
terracotta
6.5 × 26 cm (2 9/16 × 10 1/4 in.)
Paestum, South Italy
Greek (South Italian, Paestan)
Getty Museum Obj. No. 96.AE.240
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
#WorldOctopusDay 🐙:
A #cat dressed as a woman tapping the head of an #octopus, color woodcut print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japan, 1798-1861), c. 1847.
36.4 cm (14.3 in) x 25.3 cm (9.9 in) commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_...
#CatsInArt #CephalopodAwarenessDays #JapaneseArt
anthropomorphic cat dressed in a flowery kimono, with one paw on the head of an adjacent orange octopus, with Japanese text and seals (Japanese color woodcut print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi) closeup of the octopus, orange with blue eyes
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
Resharing for #WorldOctopusDay 🐙
#CephalopodAwarenessDays
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
For #WorldOctopusDay 🐙:
#Octopus Chatelaine, 1887
Gorham Manufacturing Company (Providence, RI, USA)
Silver, red glass, black beads
W. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2001.326:
www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ch...
official museum photo of object on light grey background: chatelaine in the form of an octopus (chain suspended from each of the 8 appendages), silver body, red & black eyes