Curiosities from the Museum of Giovanni Carafa (1778)
Fantastic depictions of various Roman antiquities from a wonderful catalogue of objects once found in the private museum of 18th-century antiquities collector Giova…more
Images
Diagrams from Dr Alesha Sivartha’s Book of Life (1898)
A series of superbly intricate and striking “brain maps”, illustrating Dr Alesha Sivartha’s unique blend of blend of science, sociology, mysticism and religion, a s…more
The Heart of Man; Either a Temple of God, or a Habitation of Satan; Represented in Ten Emblematical Figures (1851)
Ten illustrations which, in a wonderful marriage of word and image, plot out the life of the Christian soul….more
Music in the Margins: The Funeral of Reynard the Fox (13th century)
A motley crew of anthropomorphic animals found adorning the lower margins of a finely illuminated book of hours produced in late thirteenth-century England….more
Edward Curtis’ Photographs of Kwakwaka’wakw Ceremonial Dress and Masks (ca. 1914)
The ceremonial costumes and masks of the Kwakwaka’wakw people as photographed by American photographer and ethnologist Edward Curtis, famous for his work with Nativ…more
Aratea: Making Pictures with Words in the 9th Century
Some of the earliest examples of calligrams found in a 9th-century astronomical manuscript on the constellations….more
Rainbows in Art
Depictions spanning more than 800 years – in chronological order – of that most enigmatic of weather phenomena, the rainbow….more
Details from Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights (ca. 1500)
Collection of detailed crops from Hieronymous Bosch’s most ambitious work, The Garden of Earthly Delights….more
The Surreal Art of Alchemical Diagrams
The varied tradition of alchemy has given birth to a whole host of strange and wondrous imagery over the centuries. Here we pick out some favourites….more
Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing
Images from an exquisitely illustrated Persian translation, thought to hail from 17th-century Mughal India, of Zakariya al-Qazwini’s medieval treatise on all things…more
The Sea Monk (ca. 1845)
A woodblock print, by the late Edo period artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, illustrating the story of an encounter with the Sea Monk or Umibozu, a spirit in Japanese folklo…more
Compendium Of Demonology and Magic (ca. 1775)
A selection of pages from an 18th-century demonology book comprised of more than 30 exquisuite watercolours showing various demon figures, as well as magic and cabb…more