Chevrotain or memina of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon or Ceylan). Engraving created in 1700s for French naturalist, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), from a drawing by French wildlife artist, Jacques Henri E. De Sève (). The engraving appeared in Buffon’s influential work on natural history, the 36-volume 'Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière …’, published between 1749 and 1788. This illustration, later coloured by hand, comes from the rare 1780 French edition of the ‘Histoire’.
Hand-coloured antique engraving from a drawing by the French wildlife artist and illustrator, Jacques Henri E. De Sève. It was created for the influential 36-volume 'Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière …’, published by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, between 1749 and 1788. This page, later tinted skilfully by hand, comes from the rare 1780 edition of the 'Histoire'. Chevrotain are any of several species of small, delicately built hoofed mammals found in the warmer parts of Asia and in parts of Africa. The memina of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon or Ceylan) were noticed by the 17th century English sailor, Robert Knox, who wrote 'An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon', published in 1681. The island's memina were later described as being: "... in length about seventeen inches; in colour, of a cinerous olive, with the throat, breast, and belly white, and the neck, sides, and rump streaked in long bars of the same ". The Sinhala name, meeminna, roughly translates as 'mouse-like deer'. Jacques Henri E. De Sève () is one of the most influential natural history artists of all time. He created hundreds of animal images, many of which now seem fantastical, but an interesting feature is his inclusion of wildlife habitats; he did not merely depict animals, but rather placed them in an appropriate environment. His work was widely copied in engravings by others for later editions of Buffon's books. Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), was a French naturalist remembered for his comprehensive work on natural history. He was appointed keeper of the Jardin du Roi (royal botanical garden) in Paris and charged with cataloguing the royal collections in natural history. He produced an account of the whole of nature, which became the 'Histoire’.
Size: 6037px × 8036px
Location: In natural habitat
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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