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A GROUP OF 72 BOTANICAL WATERCOLORS BY PANCRACE BESSA
(Lots 18 - 23)
Provenance:
Almost certainly King Charles X of France (d. 1836).
By descent to his daughter-in-law, the Duchesse de Berry (d. 1870).
The following six lots of watercolors were painted by Pancrace Bessa (1772 - 1835), who studied flower painting with van Spaendonck and Pierre-Joseph Redouté. They were almost certainly made for the Herbier général de l'amateur, which was published in eight volumes and dedicated to King Charles X.
The Herbier was the most important French flower periodical of the day and was inaugurated in 1810. The first eight volumes, concluded in 1827, were illustrated solely by Bessa and contained a total of 572 of his works. They were first edited by Mordant de Launay and after his death by Loiseleur Deslongchamps.
A SET OF TWELVE BOTANICAL WATERCOLORS BY PANCRACE BESSA
1810-1827, SIGNED 'P.BESSA'
Details
A SET OF TWELVE BOTANICAL WATERCOLORS BY PANCRACE BESSA
1810-1827, signed 'P.Bessa'
Pencil, watercolor, bodycolor, gold ink framing lines, including probably: Parrot Tulip, Canterbury Bells, Regal Geranium, Palumbago, Mesembryanthe, Lady Washington Geranium, Beard Tongue, Brier Rose, Miers Streptosolen, Darwin Tulip, Lilium Candidum and Rose, in later giltwood frames
10¾ in. x 7¾ in. (273 mm. x 195 mm.) (12)
1810-1827, signed 'P.Bessa'
Pencil, watercolor, bodycolor, gold ink framing lines, including probably: Parrot Tulip, Canterbury Bells, Regal Geranium, Palumbago, Mesembryanthe, Lady Washington Geranium, Beard Tongue, Brier Rose, Miers Streptosolen, Darwin Tulip, Lilium Candidum and Rose, in later giltwood frames
10¾ in. x 7¾ in. (273 mm. x 195 mm.) (12)