The Hawks-bill Turtle (Testudo caretta)

published 1731-1743

Mark Catesby

Associated Names
Mark Catesby

Artist, English, 1679 - 1749

The image shows a large brown turtle on the right side with a cluster of small, round blue-grey eggs nestled in a shallow depression on the left side. The color palette consists of earthy browns and greens, with highlights of beige and light blue. The turtle's head and left front flipper are slightly raised above the background, while the eggs are positioned to the left, surrounded by a darker brown area.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green

  • Dimensions

    plate: 25.7 x 35.1 cm (10 1/8 x 13 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 35.7 x 53.8 cm (14 1/16 x 21 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.163.68

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Natural History, Vol. vol.2, no. 39

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green, Virginia; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1771

  • Catesby, Mark. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. London: 1771.

Inscriptions

center in plate: MC; upper right in plate: T.39.

Wikidata ID

Q74894966

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