{"title":"Mythical Creatures","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"0304-griffin","title":"Griffin","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAdapted from Joannes Jonstonus’ \u003cem\u003eHistoria Naturalis de Quadrupedibus libri\u003c\/em\u003e, Published in Amsterdam in 1657. This image is taken from a larger illustration that also includes two hippos. This encyclopedic scientific text was written by the prominent Polish physician and naturalist Joannes Jonstonus. Originally published between 1650 and 1653 in Frankfurt, with notable subsequent editions printed in Amsterdam, this text served as a crucial intellectual bridge connecting the Renaissance zoological works of Conrad Gessner to the formal taxonomic classification systems developed a century later by Carl Linnaeus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eDepicted here is a griffin (also spelled griffon or gryphon),a legendary mythical creature featuring the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, combined with the head, wings, and front talons of an eagle. Because the lion was traditionally viewed as the king of the beasts and the eagle as the king of the birds, the griffin was considered an exceptionally powerful and majestic creature, ruling over both land and sky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe motif originated in the ancient Middle East. It was frequently depicted in Persian, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian art before spreading into ancient Greece by the 14th century BCE. In Greek and Roman lore, griffins were famed for hoarding and protecting gold deposits in Central Asia. They built magnificent nests out of gold and defended them fiercely from thieves. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eGriffins were frequently associated with the gods, notably pulling the chariot of the sun god Apollo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe inclusion of mythical creatures like dragons, gryphons, and manticores in this text reflected the scientific methodology and cultural reality of an era transitioning from medieval folklore to modern science. At the time, zoology heavily relied on scholasticism, a practice where ancient Greek and Roman authorities like Pliny the Elder and Aristotle were treated as absolute, empirical truths whose writings could not be easily dismissed without proof. Furthermore, early modern naturalists frequently misinterpreted physical evidence, citing the discovery of massive, unfamiliar fossils—which actually belonged to dinosaurs or woolly mammoths—as definitive proof of legendary giants and beasts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis was compounded by the Age of Discovery, during which European sailors and merchants returned from distant lands with highly exaggerated, secondhand accounts that distorted real animals into monsters, such as a cheetah or hyena transforming into the human-faced, man-eating leucrocotta. Finally, publishers recognized that beautifully engraved plates of dramatic, legendary monsters added tremendous visual appeal and commercial value, turning these expensive volumes into highly desirable status symbols for the libraries of wealthy academics and royals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Archival Finds Prints","offers":[{"title":"A4 - 21cm x 29,7cm","offer_id":54664719106385,"sku":"0304_A4","price":24.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 - 29,7cm x 42cm","offer_id":54664719139153,"sku":"0304_A3","price":34.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A5 - 14.8cm x 21 cm","offer_id":54664719171921,"sku":"0304_A5","price":14.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Photo - 13cm x 18cm","offer_id":54664719204689,"sku":"0304_Photo","price":14.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1046\/0977\/5953\/files\/0304_Landscape1.webp?v=1789797780"},{"product_id":"0337-sea-horse","title":"Seahorse","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eGiclee reprint of an original drawing from the Natural History Paper Museum (historically compiled under the title \u003cem\u003eHistoria Naturalis\u003c\/em\u003e) of Emperor Rudolf II. It was commissioned between 1596 and 1610 by the Holy Roman Emperor in Prague. Overseen by Rudolf's court physician and celebrated naturalist, Anselmus de Boodt, this unique \"paper museum\" served as a comprehensive, visual theater of the world's known zoology and botany. It bound together roughly 750 highly finished, exquisite watercolors depicting everything from common European wildlife to exotic species imported from Africa and the Americas—such as porcupines, pineapples, and even the now-extinct Dodo bird.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWhile de Boodt and court artists like Elias Verhulst executed the drawings based on live specimens in Prague's imperial gardens and taxidermy in the Emperor's famous Wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities), the collection also charmingly blurred the lines of reality by including a few legendary creatures, like a dragon supposedly \"drawn from life\". Following centuries in private hands, these magnificent folio albums resurfaced on the art market and were placed on long-term loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where they continue to stand as a pinnacle of early modern empirical observation and late Renaissance artistry\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe seahorse  perfectly embodied the late-Renaissance fascination with the \u003cem class=\"eujQNb\"\u003eWunderkammer\u003c\/em\u003e philosophy, where items were prized for being rare, exotic, and inherently hybrid in appearance. To the court of Rudolf II, the seahorse was a living paradox: a biological marvel that possessed the downward-tilted head and mane-like neck of a horse, yet featured the scales and curled, grasping tail of a fish. Because early natural history sought to document the \"theatrum mundi\" (the theater of the world), such a bizarre creature could not be omitted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eFurthermore, its inclusion bridged the gap between empirical observation and classical mythology. For centuries, the seahorse had been linked to the mythical Hippocampus—the grand, web-pawed stallions that classical authors like Aristotle and Pliny the Elder claimed pulled the chariot of the sea god Poseidon. By painting the seahorse, Rudolf's court physician Anselmus de Boodt and his artists were able to anchor a legendary creature into documented reality. It allowed the court to celebrate the wonders of nature while simultaneously paying homage to the classical lore that deeply shaped Renaissance intellect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Archival Finds Prints","offers":[{"title":"A4 - 21cm x 29,7cm","offer_id":54664734474577,"sku":"0337_A4","price":24.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 - 29,7cm x 42cm","offer_id":54664734507345,"sku":"0337_A3","price":34.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A5 - 14.8cm x 21 cm","offer_id":54664734540113,"sku":"0337_A5","price":14.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Photo - 13cm x 18cm","offer_id":54664734572881,"sku":"0337_Photo","price":14.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1046\/0977\/5953\/files\/0337_Landscape1.webp?v=1789853368"},{"product_id":"the-nile-of-egypt","title":"The Nile of Egypt","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eGiclee reprint of an original page from \u003cem\u003eLes Secrets de l’Histoire Naturelle,\u003c\/em\u003e a 15th-century French manuscript that compiles geographical, botanical, and zoological knowledge of its time. The text is structured as an encyclopedia covering 56 different countries and regions, presenting a mixture of documented facts and medieval folklore. It describes the geography, customs, and wildlife of distant lands, often incorporating legends alongside factual observations. The most notable version of the manuscript features illustrations by the artist Robinet Testard, whose miniature paintings depict both real animals and mythological creatures based on the text's descriptions. Today, surviving copies are preserved in institutional archives like the Bibliothèque nationale de France, serving as historical records of how the Western world perceived global geography and nature during the late Middle Ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis page provides a detailed illustration of the Nile River that mixes Renaissance observation with medieval mythology, featuring a mix of real animals like lions alongside mythical creatures like unicorns and dragon-like crocodiles.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Archival Finds Prints","offers":[{"title":"Photo - 13cm x 18cm","offer_id":55034293551441,"sku":"0533_Photo","price":14.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A5 - 14.8cm x 21 cm","offer_id":55034293518673,"sku":"0533_A5","price":14.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A4 - 21cm x 29,7cm","offer_id":55034293453137,"sku":"0533_A4","price":24.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 - 29,7cm x 42cm","offer_id":55034293485905,"sku":"0533_A3","price":34.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1046\/0977\/5953\/files\/0533_Portrait1_f4436e1b-5164-43f4-9434-17279ea9572d.webp?v=1790020877"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1046\/0977\/5953\/collections\/0304_Landscape1.webp?v=1789797860","url":"https:\/\/archivalfinds.com\/it\/collections\/mythical-creatures.oembed","provider":"Archival Finds Prints","version":"1.0","type":"link"}