Maria Sibylla Merian, G. E. Rumphius, exotic sea shells, hand coloured folio, 1711

Scarce folio in hand colour from Georg Eberhard Rumpf’s D'Amboinsche Rariteitkamer. The work included engravings of crustaceans, shells, and sea urchins.

Folio engraving. 40.4 x 24.8 cm

Later hand coloured.

Published in 1711.

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717). After returning from Surinam, Merian accepted a commission to draw the illustrations for Rumpf’s work by using shells from notable Dutch collections of the period. Her drawings for Rumpf’s' book are in the Archives of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

Rumpf was a botanist and naturalist. He joined the military branch of the Dutch East India Company in 1652, and from there he devoted his life to the study of natural history in Moluccas, Indonesia.

Good overall condition.