The Wood Pelican (Tantalus Loculator) Possibly 1731 - 1743

Mark Catesby rendered this Wood Pelican, or Tantalus Loculator, as it was then known, through etching and watercolor. This creature, with its long, curved beak, has a lineage stretching back through symbolic history. The beak, that striking feature, echoes the ibis of ancient Egypt, a sacred bird associated with Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing. Thoth, often depicted with the head of an ibis, embodies knowledge and judgment. Consider the Wood Pelican here: does its beak, used to probe and discern, not also evoke a sense of searching for truth? This quest for knowledge, a primal urge, resurfaces across cultures and eras. It's an impulse deeply embedded in our collective consciousness. The Wood Pelican transcends mere representation. It becomes a vessel, carrying the weight of human curiosity and the enduring search for understanding.