Essenze botaniche - 1604

Set of 4 botanical wood engravings designed by Giorgio Liberale from Udine and carved by Wolfang Meyerpeck for the 1604 edition of the famous herbarium by Pietro Andrea Mattioli entitled "De i discorsi di m. Pietro Andrea Matthioli sanese, medico cesareo", a work that generations of apothecaries, botanists and physicians have formed around.

The 4 illustrated plants are:

The Domestic Glaasto (Glasto domestico), a plant whose leaves were the main source of the blue pigment used to dye fabrics. On the back of the sheet there is a representation of the same Glaasto, but in its wild variant (2 wood engravings on one sheet);
Orobanche, an essence with a curious form, lacking chlorophyll and parasitic, fond of hillside or mountainous habitats;
Fabaria, today known as the Madonna’s herb, composed of dense tiny pink flowers;

The 3 sheets show different levels of conservation and slight differences in sheet size:
The sheet of the Domestic Glaasto measures 33 x 21.8 cm and is in reasonable condition due to some stains, a few folds of the paper and old small reinforcements along the margins;
The sheet of the Orobanche measures 33.8 x 22.8 cm and is in excellent condition, with a few stains;
The sheet of the Fabaria measures 31.7 x 21.5 cm and is in reasonable condition due to some stains, old reinforcements along the edges and folds of the paper.

All 3 sheets feature a beautiful and uniform coloration of fairly recent origin.

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