![Maria Sibylla Merian - Der Rupsen Begin, Amsterdam, [1712-1717], 3 volumes in 1](/images/maria-sibylla-merian_der-rupsen-begin-amsterdam-1712-1717-3-volumes-in-1_AID711619.jpg?f=grey)
Maria Sibylla Merian
Der Rupsen Begin, Amsterdam, [1712-1717], 3 volumes in 1
Found at
Sothebys,
London
The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, Lot 151
6. May - 18. May 2022
The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, Lot 151
6. May - 18. May 2022
Estimate: 20.000 - 30.000 GBP
Price realised: 27.720 GBP
Price realised: 27.720 GBP
Description
Maria Sibylla Merian
Der Rupsen Begin, voedzel en Wonderbaare Verandering. Amsterdam: Gerard Valk (parts 1 and 2) [and Johann Oosterwijk (part 3)] for the author, [1712-1717]
3 volumes in 1, 4to (235 x 173 mm.), 3 hand-coloured engraved frontispieces with foliate or floral wreaths, 150 hand-coloured engraved plates, contemporary panelled calf gilt, spine gilt in six compartments, red morocco lettering-piece, marbled edges, closed tear to volume 1, pp. 1-2 (not affecting text), marginal inkstaining to a few leaves in volume 1 (not affecting text or illustrations), marginal discolouration to frontispiece plates, Volumes 2 and 3 (not affecting illustrations), scattered spotting and browning
"In modern terms, Maria Sibylla Merian may be best characterized as an amalgam of natural history illustrator, naturalist, and, to a certain extent, entrepreneur" (Huxley, The Great Naturalists, p. 105). Merian was the daughter of the well-known Swiss engraver and publisher Matthäus Merian. On her father’s early death, her Dutch mother married the flower painter Jacob Marrell. It was one of his pupils, Johann Graff of Nuremberg, who first taught Maria to paint, and later they married. Maria was primarily interested in entomology, and her first book, on the insects of Europe, with fine coloured plates of insects and flowers, was published in 1679. Some years later she was shown a collection of tropical insects which had been brought back from Surinam. This inspired her, and together with her daughter Dorothea, she embarked on a remarkably enterprising journey to South America, arriving in September 1699. They stayed for nearly two years studying and recording the plants and insects.
LITERATURE:
Huxley, The Great Naturalists, pp. 105-108; Nissen BBI 1342; STCN 182154297
Der Rupsen Begin, voedzel en Wonderbaare Verandering. Amsterdam: Gerard Valk (parts 1 and 2) [and Johann Oosterwijk (part 3)] for the author, [1712-1717]
3 volumes in 1, 4to (235 x 173 mm.), 3 hand-coloured engraved frontispieces with foliate or floral wreaths, 150 hand-coloured engraved plates, contemporary panelled calf gilt, spine gilt in six compartments, red morocco lettering-piece, marbled edges, closed tear to volume 1, pp. 1-2 (not affecting text), marginal inkstaining to a few leaves in volume 1 (not affecting text or illustrations), marginal discolouration to frontispiece plates, Volumes 2 and 3 (not affecting illustrations), scattered spotting and browning
"In modern terms, Maria Sibylla Merian may be best characterized as an amalgam of natural history illustrator, naturalist, and, to a certain extent, entrepreneur" (Huxley, The Great Naturalists, p. 105). Merian was the daughter of the well-known Swiss engraver and publisher Matthäus Merian. On her father’s early death, her Dutch mother married the flower painter Jacob Marrell. It was one of his pupils, Johann Graff of Nuremberg, who first taught Maria to paint, and later they married. Maria was primarily interested in entomology, and her first book, on the insects of Europe, with fine coloured plates of insects and flowers, was published in 1679. Some years later she was shown a collection of tropical insects which had been brought back from Surinam. This inspired her, and together with her daughter Dorothea, she embarked on a remarkably enterprising journey to South America, arriving in September 1699. They stayed for nearly two years studying and recording the plants and insects.
LITERATURE:
Huxley, The Great Naturalists, pp. 105-108; Nissen BBI 1342; STCN 182154297
Auction result well in line with expectations
In May last year Sothebys in London held the auction The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, which included the work Der Rupsen Begin, Amsterdam, 1712-1717, 3 volumes in 1 by Maria Sibylla Merian. It changed hands for a price of GBP 27,720.00 (€ 32,609.94) achieving a result in the upper range of the estimate price range of GBP 20,000.00 – 30,000.00. Admittedly, works by Maria Sibylla Merian have also been auctioned for a multiple of this price - according to our records, the highest result so far was achieved by the work Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium, in Latin and French. Amsterdam: Pierre Gosse, 1726. 2° (523 x 354mm). Latin and French title-pages in red and black with engraved vignette by D. Coster, title-page to the Oosterwyck 1 in November 2000 with an auction result of GBP 113,750.0
Auktionsergebnis im Rahmen der Erwartungen
Im Mai letzten Jahres führte Sothebys in London die Auktion The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I durch, in der auch die Arbeit Der Rupsen Begin, Amsterdam, 1712-1717, 3 volumes in 1 von Maria Sibylla Merian zur Versteigerung kam. Dabei wechselte sie für einen Preis von GBP 27.720,00 (€ 32.609,94) den Besitzer und erzielte damit ein Ergebnis im oberen Bereich der Schätzpreisspanne von GBP 20.000,00 – 30.000,00. Freilich wurden Arbeiten von Maria Sibylla Merian auch schon für ein Vielfaches dieses Preises versteigert – das bisher höchste Ergebnis erzielte nach unseren Aufzeichnungen die Arbeit Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphosibus Insectorum Surinamensium, in Latin and French. Amsterdam: Pierre Gosse, 1726. 2° (523 x 354mm). Latin and French title-pages in red and black with engraved vignette by D. Coster, title-page to the Oosterwyck 1 im November 2000 mit einem Auktionsergebnis von GBP 113.750,00 (€ 185.919,89).
Maria Sibylla Merian - Auction history
![Maria Sibylla Merian - Der Rupsen Begin, Amsterdam, [1712-1717], 3 volumes in 1](/images/maria-sibylla-merian_der-rupsen-begin-amsterdam-1712-1717-3-volumes-in-1_AID711619_320x320.jpg)
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