Lotus and Hedysarum, Pair of Hand-Colored Botanical Engravings, circa 1690
€ 340
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1690
Mapmaker / artist
Attributed to Augustus Quirinus Rivinus
Technique
Copper Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
43 × 29 cm (16.9 × 11.4 in)
Condition
Fair
Reference
BG-13747-41
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
General age toning on both sheets. Tide marks and staining along the lower edge of the Lotus sheet and along the right edge of the Hedysarum sheet. Scattered spots and small handling marks in the margins. A short tear and a small chip at the right edge of the Lotus sheet, confined to the blank margin. Image fields clean. Blank versos.
About this sheet
This is an original pair of late 17th-century botanical copper engravings with period hand color, sold together as a set and not available singly. The first sheet shows two kinds of Lotus, titled in a contemporary hand "Lotus" and "Lotus siliq. arcuat.": a tall stem with heads of red and orange pea flowers and a bunch of slender pods, beside a finer plant with trefoil leaves and curved seed pods. The second sheet shows Hedysarum trifoliatum, a single upright stem with broad leaves in shades of green and a spike of pink and purple flowers at the top.
They are two original sheets sold together, and the set is never split. Both are attributed to Augustus Quirinus Rivinus and his Ordo plantarum project, published in Leipzig in the 1690s. Each plate is printed within a neat double-ruled border on laid paper, and the color is transparent, so the fine burin hatching reads clearly through it. The plate mark is visible on both sheets.
Rivinus (1652 to 1723), professor at Leipzig, classified plants by the form of the flower, and the irregular five-petaled pea flower shown here was central to his system. Both subjects belong to the pea family, so the pair hangs as a coherent botanical group. The sheets are the same size, so they frame identically and line up without compromise. Framed alike in wide ivory mounts with dark walnut or ebonized moldings, they suit a study, a hall or a dining room.
General age toning on both sheets. Tide marks and staining along the lower edge of the Lotus sheet and along the right edge of the Hedysarum sheet. Scattered spots and small handling marks in the margins. A short tear and a small chip at the right edge of the Lotus sheet, confined to the blank margin. Image fields clean. Blank versos.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
