Worksop Bestiary
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) in 1902
Molting Serpent
Beginning a long section on the “nature of serpents,” this miniature illustrates how a snake molts: it sloughs off its skin by scraping its body against the walls of a narrow slit in a rock (or, in this case, gate) as Christians are urged to slough off their sinful selves with Christ’s help.