Trepanning the Skull and Cautery Irons, Diderot Chirurgie Plate XVII, circa 1772
€ 340
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1772
Mapmaker / artist
Antonio Baratti (AB monogram)
Publisher
Giuseppe Aubert, Livorno
Technique
Copper Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13259-20
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
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the top edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left and top right corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left and right.
About this sheet
An original antique copper engraving, uncolored, from the Chirurgie plates of the Encyclopédie. Fig. 1, at the upper left, shows the trepan in use: a surgeon in a curled wig and coat with a cloth tied at the waist works a cranked brace, one hand pressing on its head and the other turning the crank, its point set through a square compress on the shaved head of a patient, while an assistant's hands hold the head steady. Fig. 2 shows two long, flat, tapering levers, one mounted on a two armed rest with padded feet; fig. 3, drawn twice, is a curved bridge shaped rest with a small screw fitting. Fig. 4 is a pair of pincers with serrated jaws. Figs. 5 to 8 are cautery irons on long stems with screw threaded ends, their heads shaped as a point, a button, a bell and a flat block. Figs. 9 and 10 are a disc and a triangle, fig. 11 a turned handle.
The plate number is lettered "Pl. XVII." at the top right, the section "Chirurgie." is lettered below the border, and the page number "80." stands at the lower left. It is signed at the lower right with the conjoined AB monogram followed by "s.", the mark the Venetian engraver Antonio Baratti used on the Livorno plates (his full signature, "Antonio Baratti s.", is lettered on Pl. XII of this section).
The Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alembert was accompanied by volumes of engraved plates, the Recueil de planches. This plate belongs to the Chirurgie section of the Livorno edition published by Giuseppe Aubert, whose plate volumes appeared between 1771 and 1778. The Chirurgie plates set out surgical instruments, bandages and apparatus and show operations, with the figures numbered and keyed to an explanation printed in the text volume.
Condition: Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the top edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left and top right corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left and right.
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.
