on a tortoise and a cat

thanks pixabay

Another find in the "memorial poem" genre:  this one a twofer, turtle and cat.  I chuckled to see that while the poet spoke to the tortoise, he let the cat speak for itself, and assertively too, from the beyond.  Probably wisest.

ON A TORTOISE.
Slow were thy steps, and yet they reached their goal;
Cold was thy blood, but warm enough for thee;
Thou hadst a will, methinks thou hast a soul—
A breath of immortality.

ON A CAT.
Let neither fork nor spade upturn this plat.
For eighteen years I had my way;
I mewed, I purred, I scratched, I was a Cat—
And what I am thou canst not say.

-- Ernest Hartley Coleridge, found in Newbolt, Henry John, Sir, 1862-1938, Mary Lancaster Nott, and Kohler Collection of British Poetry. Animal Poems And Stories. London: H. Rees, 1916. p. 15.

the turtle akbar

• Gift of G.A. de Graag www.rijkmuseum.nl

Before I do anything else, let me offer you the link to this piece over at the Rijksmuseum, so you can really see and enjoy it.  This is a print (woodcut) by Dutch artist Julie de Graag (1877-1924), immortalizing turtle Akbar, dog Max, and cat...uh, Puss.  ("Poes" in Dutch.)  There is very little in English-language scholarship to date about de Graag, which is a pity, as her woodcuts of animals and nature are devastating in their skill and beauty.  Look:

• Gift of G.A. de Graag www.rijkmuseum.nl

Three Cats, 1916

• Gift of M. J.. de Graag www.rijkmuseum.nl

Ferns, 1920

I was able to find an entry on de Graag in the Dictionary of Women Artists (1997).  

ten thousand years of turtle

 Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando) (Japanese, 1797-1858). Mannen Bridge, Fukagawa (Fukagawa Mannenbashi), No. 56 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 11th month of 1857. Woodblock print, Sheet: 14 1/4 x 9 5/16 in. (36.2 x 23.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.56
(Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.56_PS1.jpg)

Have a look, little turtle: there's Mt. Fuji from up here.  Soon someone may come buy you and set you free in the canal down there, so that they can earn good karma.
This unexpected piece by Utagawa Hiroshige shows a piece of the railing of the Mannen (Ten Thousand Years) Bridge in the Fukagawa District, where turtles were sold as pets.  The long-lived creatures are longevity symbols in Chinese and Japanese lore, and well-traveled bridges were ideal places for vendors to sell them (and other water creatures).  I think this is a hopeful, lightly comic piece, opening one up to all the random good things life can bring, such as a turtle's brief hoist for a better view.

friday foolishness

Image taken from page 134 of Woodland Romances; or, Fables and Fancies

(PD)

 

 

 

This silly scene isn't pet-related, I know.  I came across it while I was finishing up this latest side project, and it was too delightful not to share for Friday.  So TGIF to you all.

tame your turtle

thanks wikiart.org

...tame your world?  I thought I had found only a curious and appealing artwork, and instead cracked open a door to one amazing person's adventures.
This is "The Tortoise Tamer," a 1906 oil by the Turkish Romantic painter/archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey. It's true that turtles are trainable; here's a sweet amateur blog post on how one does this, complete with videos.  Yet this piece is meant to be an allegory on his slow and steady work pace (which got a lot of good work done), as well as harking back to the ways turtles have been brought into pleasant use over the years.  I'm not counting turtle soup, and thankfully neither did he.
Osman Hamdi Bey was the subject of a graphic novel a few years ago.  Have a preview of the book and its creators here.