Medallion with Neptune, surrounded by border with sea creatures

The engraving was intended as a design for a plate. It is the third from a set of four prints each featuring a sea god or goddess in a medallion in the centre, surrounded by a border with various sea creatures. The print shows Neptune seated on a shell and holding a trident being drawn by horses. The border includes cavorting sea deities, giant fish, lobster, hermit crab and seal. The print was published in Antwerp by Philips Galle. It has been trimmed just on the circular image and is missing the rectangular border with the names of engraver and publisher.

Adriaen Collaert belonged to one of the most important families of engravers in Antwerp in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. For a very long time, Antwerp played a key role in the field of print publishing. Alongside moral allegories and religious imagery, there were also prints reflecting a great interest in the natural world. Collaert’s own compositions of this kind often include decorative borders consisting of flora, animals and grotesques, suggesting his importance as a designer of ornament.