Silvery Marmoset Amazon Monkey: Framed Audebert 18th C. Hand-colored Engraving

This original 18th century colored stipple engraving with hand-finishing creates the appearance of a watercolor. The technique was created by French botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté, with some contributions by Audebert. The print is presented in a glossy burlwood frame with black and gold outer trim and a matte black inner trim with an ornate checkered black and gray pattern and thin gold-colored borders. There is a cream-colored outer French mat with a pale yellow highlight band and a taupe-colored inner mat. The frame measures 30.25" high by 22.63" wide and 1" deep. There are small faint spots and one tiny darker spot. The print and frame are otherwise in excellent condition.

This engraving is part of a set of eleven framed portraits of monkeys from Audebert's publication that are available for purchase. Several of these would make a striking display grouping.

The set was owned by Patricia Moffat Pope (Patsy) (1927-2020). She was a cattleman's daughter, who grew up with horses, eventually building a thoroughbred horse racing empire with her husband George A. Pope, Jr. Their horses won 27 stakes races in the United States and in Europe, including the 1962 Kentucky Derby with Decidedly, the 1964 Santa Anita Derby with Hill Rise, the 1000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks with Mysterious in 1973 in England and they handed the famous Seattle Slew his first defeat in 1977 with J.O. Tobin in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park. Her husband called her "the Rose of the Ranch" so she planted hundreds of rose bushes and often brought big bouquets of flowers to her friends and family. She was a patron of the arts and sciences.

Jean Baptiste Audebert (1759-1800) was a French artist and naturalist. He studied painting and drawing in Paris and began his art career as a miniature painter, but soon pivoted to the natural sciences. His first publication, 'Histoire naturelle des singes' (The Natural History of monkeys) was published in 1800, which contained 62-63 folio-sized plates that he drew and engraved. He used a new unique technique for these illustrations that he originated. He died young, shortly after the publication of this work. He was working on other manuscripts, which were published posthumously. The popular 'Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse' (Account of the Voyage in Search of la Perouse) focussed on the mysterious disappearance of the great French explorer Jean François Galaup de La Pérouse and the search for his ship. Two other posthumous publications were 'Histoire des colibris, oiseaux-mouches, jacamars et promerops' (History of hummingbirds, jacamars and promerops) and 'L'Histoire des grimpereaux et des oiseaux de paradis' (The History of Creepers and Birds of Paradise).