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Merian, Maria Sibylla 1730 Amsterdam, Jean Frederic Bernard
Over de Voortteling en Wonderbaerlyke Veranderingen der Surinaamsche Insecten, waar in de Surinaamsche Rupsen en Wormen, met alle derzelver veranderingen, naar het leeven afgebeeldt, en beschreeven worden; zijnde elk geplaatst op dezelfde gewassen, bloemen, en vruchten, daar ze op gevonden zijn: beneffens de beschryving dier gewassen. Waar in ook de wonderbare Padden, Hagedissen, Slangen, Spinnen, en andere zeltzaame Gediertens worden vertoont, en beschreeven. Alles in Amerika door den zelve M. S. Meriaen naar het leeven en leevensgrootte geschilderd, en nu in ‘t Koper overgebracht. Benevens een Aenhangsel van de veranderingen van Visschen in Kikvorschen, en van Kikvorschen in Visschen. Large folio: 50.3 x 34.7 cm. / 19.7 x 13,4 inch. Originally hand-coloured engraved frontispiece; title page with engraved, hand-coloured vignette. [vi], 51 pp.; 72 hand-coloured plates. 18th-century style Dutch mottled calf. Spine with five raised, gilt-rolled bands; compartments rich gilt with floral borders and floral vignettes; boards with decorative gilt-rolled lines, large, square gilt floral corner pieces, and large gilt embossed arabesque in the center of both panels. Gilt dentelles. Third Dutch edition of a work first published in 1705 (with only 60 plates), and then reissued in 1719, with twelve additional plates, and again in 1730 (this edition), with 72 plates too. The work was written and illustrated by the great early 18th-century naturalist, early entomologist, and artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), daughter of the famous Swiss-born Frankfurter printer and publisher Matthäus Merian. She was the first to document the life stages of the Surinamese toad (Pipa pipa), here figured, which carries its eggs on its back” (NHM site). Merian “had started to collect insects as an adolescent. At age 13, she raised silkworms. In 1679, Merian published the first volume of a two-volume series on caterpillars; the second volume followed in 1683. Each volume contained 50 plates that she engraved and etched. Merian documented evidence on the process of metamorphosis and the plant hosts of 186 European insect species. Along with the illustrations, Merian included descriptions of their life cycles. In 1699, Merian travelled to Suriname (then Dutch Guiana) to study and record the tropical insects native to the region. In 1705, she first published Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium. Merian’s Metamorphosis has been credited with influencing a range of naturalist illustrators. Because of her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly, Merian is considered by David Attenborough to be among the more significant contributors to the field of entomology. She discovered many new facts about insect life through her studies. Until her careful, detailed work, it had been thought that insects were “born of mud” by spontaneous generation. Her pioneering research in illustrating and describing the various stages of development, from egg to larva to pupa and finally to adult, dispelled the notion of spontaneous generation and established the idea that insects undergo distinct and predictable life cycles. Plate and text numbered in an old hand, with, on the last blank verso an index to the plants illustrated with the insects; however, including those of Merian’s work on the European insects (Horn-Schenkling 14993), which is not included here. Frontispiece supplied from another edition, i.e., the [1768]-1771 Paris (Desnos) so-called “third” (= 4th) edition, edited by the French naturalist Pierre-Joseph Buc’hoz (1731-1807). It is essentially the same, except for a cartouche with a short title in French. The magnificent plates are remarkably clean and beautifully coloured. Impression and colouring both strong and accurate. The binding is extremely well done, with a convincing 18th-century Dutch look. A fine copy. Provenance: German private collection Cat. BM(NH) p. 1290; Hagen I, p. 536; Horn-Schenkling, 14992; Nissen BBI, 1341; Sitwell and Blunt, Great Flower Books p. 119. Neither in Nissen ZBI, nor in Pritzel.
Sachgebiete: Amerika, Botanik, Handzeichnungen, Illustrierte Bücher, Zoologie
125000,- EUR
Differenzbesteuert/Subject to margin taxation
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Ortelius, Abraham 1571, Antwerp, Gielis Coppens van Diest
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Complete copy, bound in a contemporary vellum binding, (8) 53 maps (29) Folio. Engraved architectural title with the figure of Europe at the top. With 53 contemporary hand-coloured double-page engraved maps. H. 43 x W. 30 cm. / H. 16.90 x W. 11.8 inch. Rare early edition of Ortelius’ revolutionary atlas, first published in Antwerp in 1570 (also a Latin edition). Ortelius’ atlas was revolutionary because it was the first attempt to present the geography of the world in a uniformly produced collection of maps of all known parts of the world. Ortelius designed the maps himself, basing his designs on the cartographic sources that he had at hand (and, equally revolutionary, also mentioning his sources on the maps), and once finished, had them engraved by Frans Hogenberg and Ambrosius and Ferdinand Aertsen. Finally, Gielis Coppens van Diest printed the maps, after which they could be coloured (also in a uniform style) and bound in a logical order in one volume. These atlases were a new phenomenon and proved to be very popular in Europe. Soon, editions were published in various languages of Europe in print runs of a few hundred copies each. Few maps are slightly (finger-)stained in the wide margins. Contemporary vellum binding with some scratches and stains. Overall, a remarkable copy of this famous atlas in beautiful contemporary colours. Van den Broecke estimates that of this 2nd Latin edition, approximately 275 copies were printed. Literature: Van de Krogt/ Koeman IIIA, 31:002; Adams O-335; Phillips 382; Shirley 122 (with the world map in his first plate, first state).
Sachgebiete: Amerika, Atlanten, Kartographie, Landkarten, Schifffahrt
75000,- EUR
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Miniature illuminated manuscript on vellum with 12 full-page and 4 small miniatures by the Parisian atelier of Maître François. 1480-1490 Paris
A tiny and complete Parisian Book of Hours with a plethora of intricate illuminations. 91 x 65mm (3.6 x 2.6in). 190 leaves on vellum, additional 4 paper leaves after (plus 3 paper endleaves at front and back) Complete, collation: 1-238, 246. Modern foliation in pencil at bottom right corners.14 lines, justified 54 x 38mm (2.1 x 1.5in), ruled in red ink, written in small dark brown lettre bâtarde, rubrics in red, penwork initials in blue with red infill or in burnished gold with dark blue infill, and flourishing extending into the margins throughout, line fillers in blue and gold. Calendar in dark brown and red. 4 small miniatures measuring four lines depicting three of the evangelists and their symbols, and the Virgin, touched in gold, some in arched frames, within three-sided panel border decorations of acanthus leaves, wildflowers, and strawberries, some in gold grounds and with black hairline penwork. 12 large miniatures in arched compartments within full borders in the same style, with additional figures of birds, insects, monsters, and a half-naked man, each including a large initial measuring 3-5 lines, blue on red with gold and white penwork, one on liquid gold grounds illuminated with berries. Some occasional light thumbing and cockling, a few smudges, and minor losses of pigment to some of the miniatures, but overall clean and vibrant. Bound in a beautiful 17th-century French red morocco binding with two triple gilt ruled frames to both boards and arabesque stamps at each corner, spine divided into five compartments, all with gilt arabesque decoration, raised bands, gilt roll tooling to board edges, brass clasp and catch in fine condition, minor cracking to one joint and some signs of wear to spine and corners, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bookplate to front endpaper, and additional gathering of four leaves inserted at the end, with manuscript prayer in an 18th century hand, in French and Latin. Text: Calendar ff.1-14v; blanks ff.15-16; Gospels ff.17-24v; Joys of the Virgin ff.25-28v; prayers to be said at different times of day and during mass ff.29-40v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris, ff.41-100v: matins f.41, lauds f.54, prime f.67, terce f.73v, sext f.78v, none f.83, vespers f.87v; compline f.95; Hours of the Cross, ff.101-108v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.109-114v; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.115-136v; Office of the Dead, use of Paris, ff.137-190v; additional gathering with prayer to the Virgin and the Holy Wound in French and Latin. Illumination: Twelve full-page and four small illuminations by the Parisian atelier of Maître François (fl.1460-80), tentatively identified with François Barbier père, active in Paris between 1455-72. An oeuvre of around fifty manuscripts has been reconstructed for the master through comparison to his only documented work from 1475 (La Cité de Dieu in Paris, Bib. Sainte-Geneviève, ms. 246). Painted in vibrant colours and with unusual marginalia decoration, including lozenge and square divisions within borders, which are also populated with a variety of birds, monsters, and the figure of a half-naked, drunk man. The use of gold thin strokes to highlight is liberally employed throughout the miniatures, the light tones present in the landscapes, and the porcelain-like complexions of the female figures point towards master François’ method. Variants in overall style can be observed in different miniatures within this book of hours, pointing towards a variation in the personal style of different scribes. The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: St John on Patmos, sitting down writing with an eagle at his side f.17; Annunciation, with the Virgin facing Gabriel, the Holy Spirit flying through an open window f.41; the Nativity, Christ lying on the floor surrounded by the Virgin and Joseph in a barn f.67, Annunciation to the Shepherds, three shepherds gazing up from their flock to an angel holding a banderole ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’ f.73v, Adoration of the Magi, two figures of the kings in addition to the family, one looking at the Star of Bethlehem f.78v, Presentation in the Temple, with the Virgin’s figure kneeling f.83; the Massacre of the Innocents f.87v; Flight into Egypt, background figures of wheat farmers and an army f.95; Crucifixion, the figure of the fainting Virgin being held by St John and Mary Magdalene, a Roman soldier holding a lance and shield and a richly dressed figure wearing a medieval cardinal’s attire, f.101; Pentecost, the Virgin and the Holy Spirit central to the composition f.109; Bathsheba bathing, King David observing in the background f.115; Death with a spear approaching a nobleman who turns away f.137. The four smaller miniatures depict Luke the Evangelist f.18v, Matthew the Apostle f.20v, Mark the Evangelist f.22v, and the Virgin with Saint Anne f.54.
Sachgebiete: Kunsthandwerk, Stundenbücher, Buchmalerei, Handschriften, Miniaturbücher
60000,- EUR
Differenzbesteuert/Subject to margin taxation
