Nunc niitdi redolent flores: sed tempore parvo... (engraved flower bouquet)

Article description

Original antique copper engraving. Engraved title by J. Leypold, printed dedication leaf, engraved portrait of Besler and his coat of arms. Dedicated to Joachim Ernest, Duke of Nuremberg, and signed Georg Gärtner, 1612. This very fine fascinating highly decorative flower bouquet was published in Nuremberg 1627 in a small book by Basilius Besler with the title: Icones sive: Repraesentatio viva, florum et herbarum. This work is of outstanding rarity and only two copies of the book where known so far (see Christies 2001 Sale 6503 Natural History Lot 6). The book is consisting this very fine, rare engraving by Georg Gärtner depicting a vase of flowers for the Markgraf of Ansbach, which is found in a few copies of the Hortus. Hainhofer sent a copy of the engraving to his patron in August 1612, calling it a tour de force of Gärtner's skill (Barker, p.15). The only other copy of the Icones known is at Darmstadt and consists of 93 plates; a third copy, formerly part of Christoph Jacob Trew's collection at Erlangen University Library, has been missing since at least 1961. The book,Icones Icones sive: Repraesentatio...' by Basilius Besler, was issued as a gratitude to those who had assisted him in preparing the "Hortus Eystettensis" but were not acknowledged in the original work in 1613. The,Icones...' included contributions from various individuals, including members of the medical college such as Joachim Camerarius and Ludwig Jungermann. Camerarius had provided advice to Bishop Johann Conrad on the garden before Besler's involvement. Jungermann seems to have had a significant role in the text's preparation, although there appears to have been some dissatisfaction with Besler's handling of the project, as evidenced by a letter from Jungermann to Caspar Hoffmann in 1614. One notable plate included in the,Icones' is the engraving by Georg Gärtner depicting a vase of flowers intended for the Markgraf of Ansbach. This engraving is also found in very few copies of the famous "Hortus Eystettensis". The engraving here in good condition and in a clear, quite strong impression, traces of old folds, some minor small old repairs or tears, but overall only marginal and hardly affecting the actual engraving.

Nissen 158; see also the description Robert de Belder (sale Sotheby's, 27 April 1987, lot 26) & Christies 2001 Sale 6503 Natural History Lot 6