Maria Sibylla Merian was one of the first scientists to document insects not as static specimens, but as living creatures in transformation. This plate carries her spirit.
The design is drawn from a naturalist’s cabinet plate in the tradition of 18th-century entomological illustration — Tab. XXVII, Lepidoptera Noctuae, Specimen Observatum in hortis et pratis. At its centre, Saturnia pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758) — the Emperor Moth — is pinned in full dorsal display, its four ocelli staring outward with the quiet authority of something that has survived every season. Around it: the caterpillar, the chrysalis, the host plant, the secondary specimens. A complete life cycle, rendered with the patience of someone who understood that beauty requires time.
The stamp reads: Museum Naturalis. The observation: Amstelodami, MDCCLXXIII.
The Object
Fired in fine bone china and finished with a fitted lid, this trinket pot is a cabinet of curiosities compressed into a single, holdable object — a jewellery dish, a desk companion, a daily encounter with something extraordinary.
Material: Fine bone china
Finish: Full-surface archival print, fitted lid
Care: Hand wash recommended
Made to order — produced with intention, never in excess
Part of The Naturalist’s Cabinet, curated for The Canvas Collective.
