Abraham Munting (1626-1683)
Prints from Naauwkeurige Beschryving Der Aardgewassen
[Accurate Description of Terrestrial Plants]
Pieter vander Aa and Francois Halma, Leyden and Utrecht, Netherlands: 1696
Hand-colored Engravings
15.25 x 10 inches sheet
12.25 x 8 inches image
$350 to $750 each
Pineapple: $1,250

Unusual and early series of botanical prints showing flowers and plants set in, or floating above, landscape backgrounds. Abraham Munting began his career as a doctor of medicine, later becoming a professor of botany at Groningen. He adopted a fascinating style for his illustrations that to contemporary eyes is tinged with surrealism: monumental plants fill the foreground or float in midair with idyllic and sometimes classical landscapes in the distance. Some are shown in unusual pots. The Latin names of the species are often presented on ribbon-like scrolls or tablets. Among the prints are trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses of temperate zones, along with a number of tropical and subtropical plants imported for cultivation to the Netherlands.

The complete title of this work is "Nauwkeurige Beschryving Der Aardgewassen, Waar in de Veelerley Aart en Bijzondere Eigenschappen der Boomen, Heesters, Kruyden, Bloemen." It was published by the noted Dutch cartographer Pieter vander Aa. This work is an enlarged and revised version of Munting's previous book Waare Oeffening der Planten (1672).

References:

Hunt 396.

"Munting, Abraham." Herbals & Early Gardening Books from the Doris and Marc Patten Collection. http://www.asu.edu/lib/speccoll/patten/html/137.html (11 July 2002).

Sotheby's Magnificent Botanical Books. April 27th/28th, 1987.

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