CALL FOR PAPERS on ‘The Palette of Nature’: SHNH International Summer Meeting, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Thursday 13th June 2024, with visits on Friday 14th June

The Society for the History of Natural History is a diverse community of people united by an active interest in the study of natural history through time, believing that a greater awareness of how nature has been considered, documented, valued and exploited by societies and individuals worldwide leads to a deeper understanding and celebration of nature.

The Society is known for its friendliness and its meetings combine intellectual excellence with opportunities for an informal exchange of ideas. It is a focal point for the history of all aspects of natural history. This includes art, literature, biography and bibliography as well as investigative historical studies.

This one-day international meeting will explore the use and importance of colour within the history of natural history. For centuries, the colours of the natural world have enticed and enthralled observers and led them to develop various means by which to convey this aspect of nature. The aesthetic appeal of certain colours of gemstones or of particular dyes and pigments derived from plants and minerals is apparent in many cultures.

This production and use of colour has also been of crucial importance in how the natural world has been described and represented over time. From lavish illustrations in natural history texts to maps and the charts which accompany diagrams, from adjective-laden taxonomic descriptions to stuffed specimens in museums, colour is ever present in how we interact with and think about the natural world.

This conference aims to bring new perspectives to the history of natural history by considering the palette of nature, and the role of colour within its history.