Flowering Lily Plants: A 17th C. Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Cataputia Vulgaris, Parietaria Sylvestris, Nummularia", depicting flowering Spanish Nut, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily plants respectively, from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713.
Creator: Basilius Besler
Creation Year: 1640
Dimensions: Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)
Width: 16.25 in (41.28 cm)
Medium: Engraving
Condition: See description below.
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Cataputia Vulgaris, Parietaria Sylvestris, Nummularia", depicting flowering Spanish Nut, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily plants respectively, from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713.
Creator: Basilius Besler
Creation Year: 1640
Dimensions: Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)
Width: 16.25 in (41.28 cm)
Medium: Engraving
Condition: See description below.
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Cataputia Vulgaris, Parietaria Sylvestris, Nummularia", depicting flowering Spanish Nut, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily plants respectively, from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713.
Creator: Basilius Besler
Creation Year: 1640
Dimensions: Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)
Width: 16.25 in (41.28 cm)
Medium: Engraving
Condition: See description below.
This beautiful hand-colored engraving is printed on thin laid chain-linked paper. There is reduced text ink in the lower right (Nummularia). There are subtle creases on the left, very common with Besler's relating to the drying of the paper during its production. There is slight irregularity of the left paper edge where it was previously bound. The print is otherwise in excellent condition, with striking hand-coloring.
Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was an apothecary and botanist. He was curator of the Willibaldsburg Castle garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, who supported Besler's academic and artistic creation and whose funds allowed the purchase of exotic plants from all over Europe. Besler spent 16 years producing drawings of 1084 varieties of plants and flowers in different seasons. These were then engraved on copper plates by master artists, resulting in the 367 beautiful and detailed engravings which comprise Besler's monumental florilegium Hortus Eystettensis, the first large-scale botanical publication.
