Toad

c. 1500–1550 or later
Overall: 8.3 x 13 cm (3 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.)
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Description

Casting animals from life was a common Renaissance practice, connected to scholars’ interest in natural history and a taste for oddities. Drowning the toad in ammonia left the animal’s body intact. The workshop then manipulated the head, opened the mouth, and cast the creature as a functional object for the study.
Toad

Toad

c. 1500–1550 or later

Italy, possibly Padua, 16th century

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