PAIR OF 18TH CENTURY ALBERTUS SEBA ENGRAVINGS OF BUTTERFLIES FROM LOCUPLETISSIMI RERUM NATURALIUM THESAURI DESCL,iesAlbertus Seba (1665-1736) Amsterdam, 1734-65. Pair of matted, of the period engravings from Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauiri accurata, consisting of XIV, Butterflies (#67109.1) and Plate IV, Butterflies (#67110.1). Both handcolored engravings measuring 19 5/8" high x 13 3/8" wide.
'Albertus Seba was a a Dutch pharmacist and zoologist who assembled a great collection of natural specimens including fish, birds, mammals, insects and other creatures. Seba moved to Amsterdam as an apprentice and, around 1700, opened a pharmacy near the harbour. Seba asked sailors and ship surgeons to bring exotic plants and animal products he could use in preparing drugs. From 1711 he delivered drugs to the Russian court in Saint Petersburg. Seba promoted his collection with the head-physician to Peter the Great, Robert Erskine, and in early 1716 Peter the Great bought the complete collection, along with the collection of Frederik Ruysch, a well known Amsterdam physician and anatomist. Both collections formed the core of the Kunstkammer, the first Russian public museum founded by Peter the Great in 1712. Based on his second collection, Seba commissioned artists and engravers to illustrate the extensive collection, which form his publication, consisting of four hundred and forty six engravings of both scientific and decorative merit.' Estimate $400-500
Provenance: The Old Print Gallery, Washington, DC.
