A Boat That Has for Sails the Wings of a Huge Bird

Series Title: Suite of the Most Notable Things Seen by John Wilkins Erudite English Bishop during His Famous Voyage from the Earth to the Moon … dedicated to Sir William Hamilton ambassador to the Court of Naples, Raccolta delle cose più notabili vedute da Giovanni Wilkins erudito Vescovo Inglese nel suo famoso viaggio dalla Terra alla Luna, con i disegni di animali, e machine a noi incognite e dal medesimo descritte nella sua celebre Istoria...Dedicata A.S.E. il Signor Guglielmo Amilton Inviato di S.M.B.ca alla Corte di Napoli

A Boat That Has for Sails the Wings of a Huge Bird

about 1769

Filippo Morghen

(Italian, 1730–after 1807)

possibly after Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Hoüel

(French, 1735–1813)

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Culture

Italy

Medium

etching

Credit Line

Purchased with funds from the Estate of Muriel Butkin 2023.19.9

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Morghen based this print series on three books dedicated to moon exploration, including Bishop Francis Godwin’s, Man in the Moone, 1640.

Description

Filippo Morghen’s set of 10 etchings is outstanding among visual narratives of imaginary voyages to the moon, both visual and literary, that intrigued 18th-century European audiences. A title page and nine plates depict the imagined lives and economy of moon dwellers. These include modes of transport such as large birds and sailboats propelled by giant bellows, enormous scissors for capturing wild beasts (including an oversized rat), and the use of giant pumpkins as fishing boats and as dwellings. Representations of the moon dwellers are based on inaccurate and imaginary European interpretations of Asian, Ottoman, and Native American cultures—called chinoiserie and turquerie—that permeated the decorative and visual arts of the period.