Bald Ibis 1722 - 1784

Simon Fokke created this print of a Bald Ibis in the mid-18th century. It’s an etching, so it would have been relatively easy and cheap to produce, and could have circulated among collectors of natural history or been bound in a book. The Dutch were prolific naturalists, and the establishment of colonies around the world gave them a unique opportunity to describe and classify new species. But there’s a tension here: on the one hand, a desire to understand and appreciate the natural world, and on the other, the colonial project which depended on exploiting it. In the background, a ship hints at the network of trade and travel that brought this African bird to the artist’s attention. Understanding the print means tracing the complex relationship between art, science, and empire in 18th-century Europe. Catalogues, travel logs, and the records of scientific societies can help us understand the institutional context in which it was made, and to reflect on the values it embodies.