Inspired by Kitty's pencil drawing I've decided to post the one and only pencil sketch I know of in the natural science collection. This is an illustration of Mok - a gorilla who lived at London Zoo in the 1930s. His skeleton is in store at Leeds Museum Discovery Centre and his skin (mounted by a taxidermist) is on display at Leeds City Museum.I like the connection this sketch gives us to Mok while he was alive: it's unusual to have an image of a living specimen from the collection. This particular drawing makes me wonder about his life in the zoo - is he bored, dreaming of Africa or just watching the world go by?
This was sketched by Stuart Tresilian, a regular visitor to London Zoo. He used its inhabitants as references for his drawings illustrating Rudyard Kipling's 'Animal Stories' and 'All the Mowgli Stories'.
LEEDM.C.2005.6
No comments:
Post a Comment