Diverse allegorische figuren in de tuin van George Clifford
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Allegorical title page with the 'earth mother' Cybele in the center, seated on a lion and a lioness, holding the keys to the garden in her hand. At her feet, a pot with Cliffortia ilicifolia and a map of the Hartekamp garden. On the left, an African woman offers her an Aloe from Africa, a woman with a turban brings her a plant of Coffea arabica from Asia, and a figure with feathers offers Hernandia from America. On a pedestal bearing the title in Latin, a bust of George Clifford(?). On the right side, a banana plant in bloom, and Apollo, who holds a torch in his left hand and lifts the veil of Diana with his right hand. With his feet, he tramples the dragon of falsehood, a reference to the fake Hydra in Hamburg that Linnaeus had exposed as a fraud on his trip to Holland. On the right foreground, two putti with a thermometer and a spade.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description