De papegay in 't groene wout / Draagt een kleed van geluwe-gout 1725 - 1780

This print of a parrot is by Johannes Kannewet and was made in Amsterdam. Kannewet was a bookseller, specifically of Bibles, a detail that helps us understand the context of this image. In the seventeenth and eighteenth-century Dutch Republic, natural history illustrations became increasingly popular. It was a time of global trade, exploration, and colonization, as well as an expanding print culture and growing literacy. These new factors helped create the market for illustrated books of animals and plants. Such images were often used to categorize and classify the natural world, reflecting a desire to understand and control it. But at the same time, such publications reinforced existing hierarchies and power structures. Images of exotic animals, like this parrot, also symbolized wealth, as they were rare creatures to be traded and collected by the wealthy class. Historical sources, such as trade records, travel logs, and scientific treatises, can tell us more about the cultural significance of this parrot and its reception in the Dutch Republic.