Fabel van het schip en de walvis

A large ship with billowing sails rests alongside the head of a scaly sea creature known as the Aspidochelone. Several barrels and round objects float in the foreground water, suggesting the sailors had begun to unload cargo or set up camp before the 'island' began to move. In the background, other vessels sail near a distant coastline under a wide, etched sky.

This print illustrates a classic motif from the medieval Physiologus and bestiary traditions—the sea monster mistaken for land—which symbolizes the deceptions of the material world and the devil. Produced during Sadeler's tenure as imperial engraver to Rudolf II, it reflects the Prague court's fascination with moralized natural history and the 'wonders of nature'.