Antique Print of Chinese Snakes by Kircher (c.1660)

Description: Antique print, untitled. This original old antique print shows Chinese snakes, in the background a temple and pagoda. Dutch text on verso. Source unknown, to be determined.

Artists and Engravers: Made by 'Athanasius Kircher' after an anonymous artist. Athanasius Kircher, S.J. (1602 - 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jesuit Roger Boscovich and to Leonardo da Vinci for his enormous range of interests, and has been honored with the title "Master of a Hundred Arts". He taught for more than forty years at the Roman College, where he set up a wunderkammer. A resurgence of interest in Kircher has occurred within the scholarly community in recent decades.