Plate 2 by Pierre- Joseph Buc’hoz

Plate 2 by Pierre- Joseph Buc’hoz

C. 1775

Hand Colored Engraving

A fine hand-colored copper engraving from Pierre-Joseph Buc’hoz’s monumental publication, Histoire universelle du règne végétal, featuring two distinct botanical studies redrawn after Georg Eberhard Rumphius’s Herbarium Amboinense. The upper, main study (Fig. 1) depicts an upright flowering stem bearing broad, rounded succulentesque leaves and terminal clusters of small violet-blue blossoms. The lower study (Fig. 2) illustrates a smaller branching stem with distinct spoon-shaped foliage, captioned Scrutellaria vulgaris foliis cochleariformibus Rumph. ibid.

Engraved at the upper margin with Pl. II (left) and Decad. 5 (right), and at the lower right corner Cent. 4., the plate incorporates Buc’hoz’s Linnaean citations alongside Rumphius's original Moluccan botanical references. Rendered in deep, rich greens and slate-blue floral accents with subtle hand-coloring.

Dimensions: H 15 ½” x 10” W

Condition: Slight toning from age