Name/Title
CE 1657 John Jonston, Zebras and Horse (Tab. V)Description
John Jonston (1603–1675)
After Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650)
From Historiae naturalis de quadrupedibus
Amsterdam: Johannes Jacobus Schipper, 1657
Copper engraving on paper with hand coloring
Plate V
This plate depicts three equids: two striped animals identified using early modern terminology associated with zebras and a horse below. Each is presented separately in a minimal landscape setting, emphasizing differences in coat pattern, body form, mane, and proportions.
Zebras posed a particular representational problem for European naturalists because relatively few observers had encountered living animals directly. Knowledge circulated through travelers’ accounts, imported specimens, skins, and copied illustrations. Variations among early images consequently record not only differences among actual equids but also the transmission and reinterpretation of zoological information across texts and images.
Jonston’s natural history assembled such material within an encyclopedic account of quadrupeds based upon both inherited authorities and contemporary sources. The juxtaposition of striped equids and the familiar domestic horse provided readers with a comparative framework for interpreting animals that remained geographically remote from most Europeans.
This impression comes from the 1657 Amsterdam edition.Create Date
August 15, 2026Update Date
September 5, 2026
