Wenceslaus Hollar’s Muscarum Scarabeorum, Vermiumque Varie Figure anatomised and identified

Tuhinga 31: 19-41

ABSTRACT: This article examines a series of 12 etchings of invertebrates, Muscarum Scarabeorum … Varie Figure (1646), by the Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–77). It locates Hollar in the historical and cultural context of this sub-genre and his likely source material. It then discusses the provenance of the series in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, which can be traced back to the political refugee and former prime minister of Denmark, Bishop Ditlev Monrad (1811–87). Hollar’s prints formed part of the foundation art collection of the Colonial Museum, Te
Papa’s antecedent. The Appendix to this article attempts to identify each species or family of invertebrate depicted. In most instances, this exercise proved relatively straightforward because of the commonness of the species, but difficulties were occasionally posed by Hollar’s artistic licence and errors in detail. As a consequence, several prints in the series have been retitled to reflect taxonomic accuracy.

KEYWORDS: Wenceslaus Hollar; Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel; Ditlev Monrad; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; natural history; collections; etchings; invertebrates; insects; butterflies; moths; beetles.