TWO 17TH CENTURY ABRAHAM MUNTING BOTANICAL ENGRAVINGS,Abraham Munting (Dutch, 1626-1683), Published Leyden & Utrecht 1696. Two matted, of the period engravings from Naauwkeurige Beschryving Der Aardgewassen: Accurate Descriptions of Terrestrial Plants, the first Plate #688, Viola Matronalis Flore Albo et Purpureo Pleno Variegata (#52575.1), measuring 15 1/8" high x 9 7/8" wide. The second plate, #858, Salvia Lutea Variegata (#52579.1), measuring 15 1/4" high x 10" wide.
'Munting wrote a number of works on medical-botanical topics, but his posthumously published 'opus magnum', the 'Naauwkeurige', enjoyed particular success, at least in part due to the novelty of the plates, which in a radical departure from the iconography of the traditional florilegium, presented its plant species against a charming series of landscape backgrounds… The illustrations are remarkable for their elegance and originality. Each plate shows a different plant in flower, including many exotic species from America and other distant lands. The plant dominates the foreground, filling the entire page, often with a detail of the fruit or flower presented on a smaller scale. In some cases the plants are presented 'à trompe l'oeil', while in others they have been arranged in decorated urns. Sometimes gardening tools are depicted as well. The name of each plant appears written on an elegantly fluttering ribbon or cartouche, or on a crumbling marble plaque. "
Estimate $300-400
Toning to both. No tears. Rough edge to one of the prints associated with being bound. Good color and impression.
