Martinet Bald Ibis Pillow from The Met Museum

This image of a bald ibis (1770-86) is from Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux, an important set of volumes edited by Georges Louis Leclerc, le comte de Buffon (1707-1788), head of the royal botanical gardens under King Louis XV. The most celebrated ornithological work of the 18th century, it includes hand-colored engravings such as the one by François Nicolas Martinet (French, 1731-ca. 1804) in The Met collection, which features on our luxurious pillow. Martinet trained as an engineer and draftsman, but today he’s best remembered for his exquisite bird engravings.