Garey OF THE DODO. 29 
Island in the East Indies, in the early times of the discovery of the Indies by the way of the 
Cape of Good Hope. It was the property of the late Sir H. Sloane to the time of his death, 
and afterwards becoming my property I deposited it in the British Museum as a great curio- 
sity. The above history of the picture [had from Sir H. Sloane and the late Dr. Mortimer, 
secretary to the Royal Society.” This picture is still preserved in the British Museum, and 
may be seen in the Bird Gallery along with the Dodo’s foot, to be hereafter described. It repre- 
sents the Dodo surrounded by American Maccaws, Ducks, and other birds, depicted with great 
exactness and attention to details. Judging from the animated and natural expression which 
the artist has introduced, I am quite disposed to believe the assertion of Edwards, that it was 
painted from life. Unfortunately there is neither name nor date upon the picture ; but from 
the style of execution, and the identity of the design with the pictures next to be noticed, it 
may be attributed to one of the two Saverys. As the other birds in this picture are the size 
of life, the Dodo is probably represented of its true magnitude, although it must have been a 
rather larger specimen than either of those whose skulls are now extant. 
The engraving on the opposite page was made under Mr. Broderip’s superintendance, 
to illustrate his treatise in the Penny Cyclopedia, and as it is an accurately reduced copy of 
the painting in question, I have obtained the permission of Messrs. Clowes to introduce 
it here. 
2. In the Royal Collection at the Hague is a painting by Roland Savery, which is pro- 
nounced by Houbracken (Groote Schouburgh der Nederlantsche Konstschilders en Schilder- 
essen, Hague, 1753, vol. i. p.58,) to be one of that master’s chef d ‘eeuvres.' It represents 
Orpheus charming the animal creation with his music, and among innumerable birds and 
beasts, which are depicted with the utmost accuracy, we see the clumsy Dodo spell-bound by 
the strains of the Lyric Bard. All the other animals in this composition are exact and almost 
mechanical copies of nature, without the smallest indication of pictorial licence ; we cannot 
therefore suppose that the artist would have marred the consistency of his design by intro- 
ducing a fabulous or even an exaggerated representation. The Dodo, like all the other figures, 
must have been copied from careful sketches made either by the artist himself or by persons 
in whom he could confide. Such were my own impressions on examining this painting in 
1845, and Professor Owen, who was the first to call the attention of Naturalists to it, expresses 
a similar opinion. . 
«Whilst at the Hague,” he says, “in the summer of 1838, I was much struck with the mimuteness 
and accuracy with which the exotic species of animals had been painted by Savery and Breughel, in 
such subjects as Orpheus charming the beasts, &c., in which scope was allowed for grouping together 
a great variety of animals. Understanding that the celebrated menagerie of Prmce Maurice had afforded 
the living models to these artists, I sat down one day before Savery’s Orpheus and the Beasts, to make a 
1 Dr. Hamel, in his recently published work entitled ‘Tradescant der Aeltere,’ p. 170, states that this picture 
was painted in 1638, but he has probably no other authority than the conjecture that the bird shewn that year in 
London served as Savery’s model. 
