Rare and attractive leaf with 2 beautifully hand-coloured woodcuts from one of the most famous Renaissance books on prodigies and extraordinary natural phenomena printed in Basel 1557. These early woodcuts depict extraordinary prodigies believed to foreshadow future calamities. The famous “rain of frogs” of 1345, showing countless frogs falling from storm clouds upon a landscape below, an event interpreted as a divine omen of pestilence and misfortune. The blazing comet crossing the heavens above a town, a celestial phenomenon traditionally associated with war, famine, plague, and political upheaval. These striking illustrations exemplify the Renaissance fascination with unusual natural events and their perceived significance as warnings from God. The leaf originates from the celebrated Renaissance chronicle of wonders by Conrad Lycosthenes, Prodigiorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon (Basel, 1557) and draws on classical and medieval sources of its time such as Sebastian Münster, Conrad Gesner, Cardano and Paracelsus. The work reflects the Renaissance fascination with unusual natural phenomena, monsters, mythical creatures and other marvels of nature at the crossroads of early science, astrology and natural history. Dimensions: 26,5 x 18,8 cm Good condition, a small wormhole in white margin. Attention to US buyers: due to new regulations we only ship with DHL or UPS to the US, therefore higher shipping costs apply!