Abandoning the symbolic dimension given to natural beings, Jan van Kessel painted works of still life that are both scientific studies in the field of zoology and botany as well as works of art.

Using a technique that requires extreme precision, he paints this group of birds and sea creatures with great realism on a small panel of wood, as an allegory of air and water.  This work might have had a matching work, an allegory of earth and fire, as in a « cabinet of curiosities ».