A fine set of four handcolored engraved plates of flowering plants, to include: Duranta, Monsonia, Tulipa, and Erythronium, after Jacques de Sève (fl. 1742 - 1788) or Jacques Eustache de Sève (fl. 1790 - 1830),

French, circa 18th/19th century.

Why these are special?

Beautifully engraved and hand-coloured, in superbly decorative frames, the present plates (Duranta, Monsonia, Tulipa) correspond almost exactly to respective illustrations from Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature. Botanique (1791) directed by Robert Benard and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and illustrated by Jacques Eustache de Sève.

History

Jacques de Sève was a prolific artist and engraver most associated with Buffon, although he also worked with Duhamel du Monceau and Perrault. His son Jacques Eustache was also an artist, and there is in fact no agreement as to which was the engraver of the present plates, although the original designs were presumably the work of the father.

In modern gilded and glazed frames with French mats.