Framed and on the wall
Frame and rooms are illustrations of how the print could look; the description says what is included.
Antique Floral Botanicals, Natrix, Astragalus & Cytisus, Leipzig 1690s
$625 (£475, €560)
Period original, not a reproduction.
Shipped from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked, worldwide. Returns accepted within 14 days.
- Date
- Not stated
- Size
- 16.9 × 11.4 in (43 × 29 cm)
- Condition
- Fair. Strong, well-coloured impressions with even age toning. Light scattered foxing and handling marks; some marginal smudges; faint tide line at the lower margin; tiny edge nicks and short tears confined to blank margins. Paper fragile, tape on reverse.
- Section
- Botanical
- Reference
- f_46603682
Rivinus botanicals: Natrix, Astragalus & Cytisus, Leipzig, 1690s (set of 3)
Set of three late-17th/early-18th-century botanical copper engravings with period hand-colour, attributed to Augustus Quirinus Rivinus and his Ordo plantarum project (Leipzig, 1690s; likely 1699, the “flore irregulari pentapetalo” volume). Each sheet is printed within a neat double-ruled border and titled in a contemporary hand. The plates depict: “Natrix” (a slender, leafy stem hung with many pendulous yellow papilionaceous flowers), “Astragalus” (compound leaflets with short racemes of reddish-yellow blossoms), and “Cytisus” (twin brooms with tall golden inflorescences and a separate pod study). Transparent hand-colour allows the fine burin hatching to remain visible. True plate impressions encircle the image fields, and the laid paper shows a fragmentary two-letter countermark at the outer edge, typical of Dutch paper used by Leipzig printers of this period. Together the three sheets form a coherent Fabaceae group that illustrates 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 even age toning. Light scattered foxing and handling marks; occasional marginal smudges; faint tide line at the lower margin on some sheets; tiny edge nicks and short tears confined to blank margins. Image areas clean and fresh. Plate marks clearly visible on all three. Blank versos.
Framing tips:
Mount in wide ivory or soft-cream mats; a very thin olive or warm-grey inner line echoes the foliage. Ebonized or dark-walnut frames provide 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)
