Set of 3 Rare Botanical Engravings – Cracca, Lotus & Foenugracum, ca.1690
€ 560
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
Date
1690
Sheet size
43 × 29 cm (16.9 × 11.4 in)
Condition
Fair
Reference
BG-13747-59, -61, -62
Condition
Strong, well-coloured impressions with overall age toning. Light scattered spots and small handling marks; occasional marginal smudges; faint tide mark at lower margin on some sheets; tiny edge nicks and short tears confined to blank margins.
Set of three late-17th/early-18th-century botanical copper engravings with period hand-colour, attributed to Augustus Quirinus Rivinus and his Ordo plantarum series produced in Leipzig in the 1690s (very likely the 1699 “flore irregulari pentapetalo” volume). Each sheet is printed within a neat double-ruled border and titled in a contemporary hand. The plates read: “Cracca fl. ochroleuco” (a vetch with pale yellow-tinged blossoms shown on lateral racemes; small manuscript number “52.” at upper right), “Lotus Lybica” (a striking North-African lotus with rounded, fleshy leaflets and rosy yellow flowers), and “Foenugracum polyceraton” (a wiry stem with whorled, yellow papilionaceous flowers and multiple pods). Transparent hand-colour preserves the burin hatching beneath. True plate impressions are visible around each image. The laid paper shows fragmentary two-letter countermarks along the outer edges, consistent with Dutch paper commonly used by Leipzig printers of the period. As a trio they form a coherent Fabaceae group illustrating the irregular, five-petalled papilionaceous corolla central to Rivinus’s taxonomy.
Sold here as three loose prints, unframed and unmatted. Any frames or mounts shown in visuals are for illustration only; the price covers the prints only.
Condition report: Strong, well-coloured impressions with overall age toning. Light scattered spots and small handling marks; occasional marginal smudges; faint tide mark at lower margin on some sheets; tiny edge nicks and short tears confined to blank margins; one sheet with small manuscript number at the top corner. Image fields clean and fresh. Plate marks clearly visible. Blank versos.
Framing tips: Mount in wide ivory or soft-cream mats; a very thin olive or warm-grey fillet echoes the foliage. Ebonized or dark-walnut frames give crisp contrast; a narrow gilt slip adds a restrained classical accent. Hang as a horizontal trio with consistent sight windows and generous spacing. Use UV-filter glazing.
Technique: Copper engraving with period hand-colour on laid paper (plate impressions present; sheets show partial two-letter countermarks typical of Dutch paper) Maker: Attributed to Augustus Quirinus Rivinus, Ordo plantarum, Leipzig, 1690s (likely 1699)
