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MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717)
Spanish Jasmine with Ello Sphinx Moth and Garden Tree Boa
1702-03RCIN 921203
Underneath her depiction of the life cycle of the Ello Sphinx Moth (Erinnyis ello), Merian placed a Garden Tree Boa (Corallus enhydris). She may have based the depiction of the snake on a specimen that she brought back to Amsterdam, but was careful to show it in its distinctive rolled pose.