Widder Auktionen
527
-
Basilius Besler
See original version (German)
527
-
Basilius Besler
See original version (German)
Estimate €150 - €300
Voluntary lot
Description
Basilius Besler
(Nuremberg 1561 – 1629 Nuremberg)
Thistles
colour etching on paper, 54 x 41.2 cm
inscribed on the plate: *Acantium Sylvestro flornalbo* and *Carduus Sphoero cephalus*
ESTIMATE €150 – €300
STARTING PRICE €150
Basilius Besler was a Nuremberg-based apothecary, botanist, publisher and illustrator. He became famous above all for his magnificent botanical atlas *Hortus Eystettensis* of 1613, a seminal work of early modern botanical book art. In 1589, Besler took over the ‘Zum Marienbild’ pharmacy in Nuremberg and, alongside this, established his own botanical garden and a natural history collection. Thanks to his knowledge and his collection, he became part of a circle of eminent naturalists and, in 1597, was entrusted by the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt, Johann Conrad von Gemmingen, with the creation and management of the prince-bishop’s garden at Willibaldsburg. The resulting *Hortus Eystettensis* was published in 1613 and documented the plants of the Eichstätt garden in elaborately executed copperplate engravings; the work brought Besler fame throughout Europe. Although he was not regarded as a scientist in the modern sense, he made a decisive contribution to the dissemination of botanical knowledge and to the development of floral book illustration. Besler remained active in Nuremberg until his death in 1629 and is today regarded as one of the most important figures in early modern botany and botanical publishing.
PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price comprises the highest bid plus the buyer’s premium, VAT and, where applicable, the artists’ resale rights fee and platform fee. In the case of standard taxation (marked °), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax of 13 per cent (20 per cent for photographs) is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer’s premium and the platform fee.
The buyer’s premium amounts to 28 per cent in the case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.
See original version (German)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like