Botany · 18th century
€ 1 450
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
Age-related toning, occasional minor spotting, and light wear consistent with age. Original hand coloring remains vibrant and attractive. Overall in very good antique condition with strong decorative appeal.
A magnificent and highly decorative early 18th-century botanical engraving titled Palma Dactilifera Major, created by the renowned German botanist and publisher Johann Christoph Volkamer and published in Nuremberg around 1713 as part of the celebrated Hesperidum Norimbergensium (also known as Nürnbergische Hesperides), one of the most important and visually striking botanical works of the Baroque period.
This exceptional hand-colored copper engraving depicts a monumental date palm rising dramatically above an expansive Middle Eastern landscape identified as Nazareth. The composition combines scientific botanical illustration with imaginative architectural and landscape fantasy, creating one of the most visually distinctive image styles of the early 18th century. Enlarged botanical studies of the palm leaves and fruit float above the landscape in almost surreal fashion, while elegant figures, gardens, buildings, and distant hills animate the lower register.
Johann Christoph Volkamer (1644–1720), a wealthy Nuremberg merchant and passionate botanist, devoted much of his life to the cultivation and study of exotic citrus and tropical plants. Using the wealth generated by his family’s silk enterprise, Volkamer created celebrated gardens and produced the monumental Nürnbergische Hesperides between 1708 and 1714. The publication documented rare citrus fruits, palms, and exotic plants cultivated in Europe during the Baroque fascination with botanical collecting and orangery culture.
The engravings from this work are among the masterpieces of European botanical art. Unlike many purely scientific botanical illustrations, Volkamer’s plates combine precise natural observation with fantastical landscape compositions inspired by Italian vedute, garden design, and exotic travel imagery. The result is both scientifically informative and highly decorative.
This particular plate, Palma Dactilifera Major, is especially desirable for its strong vertical composition and evocative Holy Land association with Nazareth. The towering palm tree dominates the scene while the carefully hand-colored details and expansive landscape create remarkable visual depth and decorative presence.
Original Volkamer engravings are increasingly difficult to obtain, particularly in attractive condition with original hand coloring. Their rarity, artistic quality, and strong decorative appeal make them highly sought after by collectors of botanical art, Baroque engraving, garden history, exotic plant imagery, and early natural history illustration.
This is an original antique engraving, not a reproduction. All items we offer are authentic period works of art over 100 years old. The piece is sold unframed; any framed images are shown for presentation and interior inspiration only and may not always be to scale.
Keywords: Johann Christoph Volkamer, Volckamer, Palma Dactilifera Major, date palm, botanical engraving, Nazareth, Hesperidum Norimbergensium, Nürnbergische Hesperides, antique botanical print, hand-colored engraving, Baroque botanical art, exotic plants, palm tree print, natural history engraving, 18th century botanical art, Holy Land landscape, Nuremberg engraving, antique palm print, citrus engravings, botanical illustration
Condition:
Age-related toning, occasional minor spotting, and light wear consistent with age. Original hand coloring remains vibrant and attractive. Overall in very good antique condition with strong decorative appeal.
Framing Tips:
This engraving displays exceptionally well in dark walnut, black lacquer, or lightly gilt frames paired with a wide ivory or parchment-toned mat. Its elegant vertical format and exotic botanical imagery make it especially suitable for libraries, conservatories, garden rooms, Palm Beach interiors, Mediterranean interiors, or sophisticated botanical collections.
Technique: Hand-colored copper engraving
Maker: Johann Christoph Volkamer, Nuremberg, Germany, circa 1713
