A Pelican and other Birds near a Pool, Known as ‘The Floating Feather’, Melchior d'Hondecoeter, c. 1680

A Pelican and other Birds near a Pool, Known as ‘The Floating Feather’, Melchior d'Hondecoeter, c. 1680

oil on canvas, h 159cm × w 144cm More details

It must have been a great honour for Hondecoeter to receive commissions from the country’s ruler. He made this regal bird scene for Het Loo, the palace of William and Mary. It features a pelican in the foreground, a cassowary behind it at the left, a flamingo and a black crowned crane. Water birds congregate in and around a basin, and a feather floats on the water’s surface.

On display in room 2.22

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