Lifecasting was the renaissance art of making sculptures using molds taken from real-life plants and animals.

The most lavish among them were festooned with colorful appliqué and brightened with gilded leather.

Renaissance-era anatomists taught people to “knowe thyself” by reading the books of bodies.

The Falnama, or Book of Omens, combined apocalyptic representations from many sources. Say a prayer, ask your question, and flip to a random page.

The inaccuracy of medieval lions may have been a stylistic preference, particularly in a bestiary, or compendium of beasts.