Birds and insects, c 1690.

Engraving by G van der Gucht after Japanese prints and drawings by Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716). Illustrated are millipedes, a snake, a duck, and cicadas, from Kaempfer's 'The History of Japan' (1727). Kaempfer was a German physician working at the Dutch trading post in Japan from 1690-1692. He assembled a large collection, which ended up at the British Museum. On his return to Europe he wrote 'The History of Japan', which records many aspects of Japan in the Genroku period (1688-1704).