After Pancrace Bessa Art

Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Plate No. 39; Unidentified tree with moth, caterpillar and pupa. The Netherlands: 1705....

Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Plate No. 6; Thistle and Moths. The Netherlands: 1705. Engraving with hand coloring in w...

Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Plate No. 26; Cocoa plant, caterpillar, pupa, and butterflies. The Netherlands: 1705. En...

This is a 19th century colored aquatint and stipple engraving finished by hand entitled "White Hamburgh Grape", drawn and engraved by George Brookshaw and published in London in 1812 as plate 60 in his 'Pomona Britannica; or, A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits'. It depicts a cluster of pale green grapes still on the vine. The vine and leaves are shown in attractive shades of green and brown. The plant lays on a brown textured background with shadows to impart 3-dimensionality. The scene is reminiscent of an engraving in an 18th century artistically stylized human anatomy atlas. There is a light brown title rectangle in the lower center which is blank, suggesting this may be a more rare preproduction proof. There are wide white margins. This striking engraving is presented in a reddish brown decorative wood frame with a darker brown scroll-work outer trim and a gold-colored inner fillet and a thick light beige mat. The frame measures 26" high, 22" wide and 1.13" deep. It is glazed with UV conservation glass. There is a tiny spot in the lower margin on the left and another in the left margin. The print and frame are otherwise in excellent condition. There is a second Brookshaw engraving that is framed in identical moulding, although a slightly different size and a different color mat. It depicts a Silver Rock Melon. The two prints would make a striking display pairing...

Original stipple engraving by Charles-Louis Ruotte, printed in colour and finished by hand. [Paris, 1805] Prévost came from a long line of French artists spanning 400 years. Jean-...

Original stipple engraving by Charles-Louis Ruotte, printed in colour and finished by hand. [Paris, 1805] Prévost came from a long line of French artists spanning 400 years. Jean-...

Four magnificent copper engraved plates with hand-colour from "Hortus Eystettensis", one of the earliest and most famous works in the field. [Nuremberg and Eichstatt, 1640]. The Hortus Eystettensis is a pictorial record of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time, that of Prince Bishop of Eichstatt, Johann Conrad von Gemmingen. The garden was begun by Joachim Camerarius in 1596 and, after his death in 1598, completed by Basil Besler...

Aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colours and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora. Framed and glazed. London, 1...

Four plates from The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Strange Diet of Flowers. “Wolfsmelk Rupsen;" “Wolfsmilch, Raupe und Schmetterling" Amsterdam: J F Bernard, 1730. Each an engraving with hand coloring in watercolor and gouache printed on one sheet of watermarked Honig cream laid paper, each measures 6 1/4 x 5 inches (157 x 121 mm), sheet measures 20 5/8 x 14 inches (522 x 355 mm), full margins. With handling creases in the lower right sheet quadrant, as well as minor, loose cockling, otherwise in very good condition. The colors are superb with exceptionally fresh and bright saturation. Engraved between 1679 and 1683, printed 1730. Plates included: No.1:I; No. 2:1; II & III. MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN was one of the most highly respected entomologists of the 17th century, and remains today one of the field's most significant figures. A German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator, she reared herself on the study of caterpillars, and made tremendous contributions to the knowledge of the life cycles of numerous species. Until her detailed and careful study of the process of metamorphosis it was thought that insects were "born of mud," through spontaneous generation. Trained as a miniature painter by her stepfather, she published her first book of illustrations in 1675, at the age of 28. In 1679, Merian published the first volume of the two-volume series on caterpillars, The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Strange Diet of Flowers; the second volume followed in 1683. Each volume contained 50 plates that she engraved and etched. In 1699, Merian traveled to Dutch Guiana...

This beautiful, original hand-colored orchid lithograph entitled "Trichosma Suavis" Orchids by John Nugent Fitch is plate 114 in Robert Warner's publication 'The Orchid Album, Compri...

Original stipple engraving by Charles-Louis Ruotte, printed in colour and finished by hand. [Paris. 1805] Prévost came from a long line of French artists spanning 400 years. Jean-Louis himself first exhibited at the Salon when only fourteen years of age, showing paintings of bouquets, a vase of flowers and other small botanical studies. Immediately he was commissioned by Monsieur Roussel to paint the flowers in the wealthy landowner's garden. The result was a 12-volume work of gouache studies, entitled "Hortus Cellensis", and was at once acquired by the Paris Natural History Library. Prévost's "Collection des Fleurs et Fruits...

A magnificent print by Robert John Thornton; aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colour and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora...