Lion, Bull, Fox, Wolf, Dog, Boar, Goat, Horse, Elephant and Deer

Executed on laid paper, Collaert employs fine incised lines to render fur, skin and foliage, achieving a high degree of textural detail within a relatively small format. The figures are stylized rather than naturalistic, emphasizing emblematic forms and movement through exaggerated poses and interlocking bodies.

Created in the late sixteenth century, the engraving reflects the flourishing print market of the Low Countries, where Collaert was active as a prolific engraver for publishing houses. Surviving copies are held in several European museum collections, attesting to the work’s circulation among collectors of printed curiosities.

The piece belongs to a tradition of emblematic animal prints that circulated alongside scientific treatises and bestiaries. In the period’s visual culture, such compilations served both decorative and didactic purposes, illustrating moral lessons or natural history observations for an increasingly literate audience.