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Lot Essay
The relatively early date of these botanical studies, places them in a period when scientific and botanical research methods were beginning to undergo a significant change. Scientific illustrations of this kind were assembled by collectors into archives, the most famous being the early 17th-century Museo Cartaceo of Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657), who not only employed many artists to create visual scientific documentation, but also actively collected earlier examples of such work while pursuing his own research.
This folio can be compared to drawings in the Royal Library, previously in the collection of the Accademia dei Lincei, illustrated in colour in Il Museo Cartaceo di Cassiano dal Pozzo, Olivetti, 1989, pls. 36, 38, and 44. The original 17th-century inscribed, vellum binding of this folio is also similar to those illustrated in a photograph of various albums from Dal Pozzo's collection, op.cit., p. 6, pl. 5.
For another watercolour possibly from the Dal Pozzo collection, see lot 13.
The watermarks on the sheets may date from the 16th century, implying that the watercolours were executed at an earlier date and were purchased by Dal Pozzo or that his artists were using an earlier paper.
This folio can be compared to drawings in the Royal Library, previously in the collection of the Accademia dei Lincei, illustrated in colour in Il Museo Cartaceo di Cassiano dal Pozzo, Olivetti, 1989, pls. 36, 38, and 44. The original 17th-century inscribed, vellum binding of this folio is also similar to those illustrated in a photograph of various albums from Dal Pozzo's collection, op.cit., p. 6, pl. 5.
For another watercolour possibly from the Dal Pozzo collection, see lot 13.
The watermarks on the sheets may date from the 16th century, implying that the watercolours were executed at an earlier date and were purchased by Dal Pozzo or that his artists were using an earlier paper.