This fabulous creature is a scitali, a dog-headed, two-legged serpent found in the pages of the Aberdeen Bestiary (c1200). These creatures were believed to have glittering skin that would dazzle an onlooker and slow them down, enabling them to be caught more easily.
The Aberdeen Bestiary is a wondrous, illustrated encyclopaedia of animals real and imaginary. The original manuscript is in the care of the University of Aberdeen, who have kindly digitised it and provided open access to the book pages online. Those with a keen eye will notice many similarities to the Ashmole Bestiary, which was created in the same decade.
As always, my tribute painting is created with liberties of my own, using watercolour, ink and casein, embellished with 23.75 carat gold. The painting is varnished and mounted to aa wooden panel and offered ready to hang in a beautiful 9½” x 7½” wooden frame.
The listed price includes free UK shipping. I am very happy to ship worldwide upon request. (If you live outside the UK, please contact me to discuss the postage options for your country.
This fabulous creature is a scitali, a dog-headed, two-legged serpent found in the pages of the Aberdeen Bestiary (c1200). These creatures were believed to have glittering skin that would dazzle an onlooker and slow them down, enabling them to be caught more easily.
The Aberdeen Bestiary is a wondrous, illustrated encyclopaedia of animals real and imaginary. The original manuscript is in the care of the University of Aberdeen, who have kindly digitised it and provided open access to the book pages online. Those with a keen eye will notice many similarities to the Ashmole Bestiary, which was created in the same decade.
As always, my tribute painting is created with liberties of my own, using watercolour, ink and casein, embellished with 23.75 carat gold. The painting is varnished and mounted to aa wooden panel and offered ready to hang in a beautiful 9½” x 7½” wooden frame.
The listed price includes free UK shipping. I am very happy to ship worldwide upon request. (If you live outside the UK, please contact me to discuss the postage options for your country.
