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Its luxurious Tuesday, as L is for lobster in #LockDownBestiary @LockdownBestia1
1– An emblem of a lobster looking (waving?) at the sun. The inscriptio reads “well planned, badly executed” and “no matter how far it goes, it does nothing worthwhile” – not sure why, but seems a bit rude [emblem series on monastic life, Jacques Callot, 1600s, pic Rijksmuseum]
![1– An emblem of a lobster looking (waving?) at the sun. The inscriptio reads “well planned, badly executed” and “no matter how far it goes, it does nothing worthwhile” – not sure why, but seems a bit rude [emblem series on monastic life, Jacques Callot, 1600s, pic Rijksmuseum]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYXgOqrWsAAb6Kd.jpg "1– An emblem of a lobster looking (waving?) at the sun. The inscriptio reads “well planned, badly executed” and “no matter how far it goes, it does nothing worthwhile” – not sure why, but seems a bit rude [emblem series on monastic life, Jacques Callot, 1600s, pic Rijksmuseum]")
2– Let’s not dwell, and move on to admire this lovely porcelain and enamel lobster-shaped wine carafe [anonymous, Ming dynasty, 1500s, pic Rijksmuseum]
![2– Let’s not dwell, and move on to admire this lovely porcelain and enamel lobster-shaped wine carafe [anonymous, Ming dynasty, 1500s, pic Rijksmuseum]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYXgZgpXkAEsGWp.jpg "2– Let’s not dwell, and move on to admire this lovely porcelain and enamel lobster-shaped wine carafe [anonymous, Ming dynasty, 1500s, pic Rijksmuseum]")
3– In this Netherlandish still life, the lobster is positioned among other extravagant items such as a tapestry, citrus fruits, more wine [Willem Kalf, Still life with lobster and drinking horn, pic RKD]
![3– In this Netherlandish still life, the lobster is positioned among other extravagant items such as a tapestry, citrus fruits, more wine [Willem Kalf, Still life with lobster and drinking horn, pic RKD]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYXgjBRXkAAMOqN.jpg "3– In this Netherlandish still life, the lobster is positioned among other extravagant items such as a tapestry, citrus fruits, more wine [Willem Kalf, Still life with lobster and drinking horn, pic RKD]")
4– This connotation of luxury did not carry everywhere: on the coasts of New England, lobsters were so abundant that they were called “cockroaches of the sea”, see https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xy7vzw/lobsters-delicious-history-is-completely-insane
5– 16th-c naturalists approached lobsters as part of the "aquatilia", a catch-all term for animals living in the water (following Aristotle). They were thus described alongside fish, beavers, and oysters, in natural historical books.
6– 18th-c naturalists classified lobsters as insects. As Dutch physician Job Baster explained in his Natuurkundige Uitspanningen (1765) they had antennas & scale-like skin, but no bones or eyelids, their mouth opened sideways, and they did not breathe through their nose [pic RKD]
![6– 18th-c naturalists classified lobsters as insects. As Dutch physician Job Baster explained in his Natuurkundige Uitspanningen (1765) they had antennas & scale-like skin, but no bones or eyelids, their mouth opened sideways, and they did not breathe through their nose [pic RKD]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYXnbJ_XkAIB1AT.png "6– 18th-c naturalists classified lobsters as insects. As Dutch physician Job Baster explained in his Natuurkundige Uitspanningen (1765) they had antennas & scale-like skin, but no bones or eyelids, their mouth opened sideways, and they did not breathe through their nose [pic RKD]")
7– He also included the helpful phrase “Mensibus, in quibus R, non bonus est Cancer”, which translates to something as: “when the R is in the month, lobster is no good.” But this is May, and some beautiful lobsters are bound to resurface here
