Basilisk, Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt, 1596 - 1610
pen, h 133mm × w 245mm More details
The albums also feature some imaginary creatures, such as a sea monster and a small dragon. The latter was probably a forgery made from a ray and kept in Rudolf II’s collection. This basilisk is a curious case: a lizard without forelegs. We do not know how De Boodt interpreted this animal. Is it a freak of nature, or a reference to a basilisk, a mythical snake-dragon?
