Books like The Continuum encyclopedia of animal symbolism in art by Hope B. Werness

The Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in Art is a comprehensive reference that examines how animals are depicted and understood in diverse world cultures and throughout human history. Each animal entry begins with concise zoological data—scientific name, classification, range, habitat, and behavior—before exploring its symbolic significance within specific cultural, chronological, and geographical contexts. General entries on cultural areas cross‑reference detailed studies of individual cultures. The volume also addresses broader themes such as the role of animals in their own environments, human‑animal interactions (pets, zoos), and theoretical concepts like anomalous animals, collective symbolism, and complementary duality. Visual aspects of animal representation, including composition and anatomical imaging, are treated in dedicated entries. The work concludes with an appendix of animal taxonomy, a bibliography, and an index of names, making it a valuable resource for scholars of folklore, mythology, ethnozoology, and art history.

First publish date: November 2003