G.D. Heuman - 1735 Engraving Locusts, J.J. Scheuchzer's 'Physica Sacra'

Description

G.D. Heuman - Original 1735 Engraving. A page from Johann Jakob Scheuchzer's 'Physica Sacra' (1731-1735). Tab. CCLV. Copper plate engraving. Titled "Locstae". On laid. Signed in plate. On laid. Condition is exceptional for a picture of this age including some very minor discolouration.

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (August 2, 1672 – June 23, 1733) was a Swiss scholar born at Zürich. His 'Physica Sacra' (first publicised in 1731) comprised four volumes of art, science, mysticism and all worldly knowledge. This bizarre large-scale book features over 700 copper plate engravings. With a fine balance of careful observation and allegorical imagination, these depict—in frames each more fanciful than the last—such scenes as: lamenting fetal skeletons with the motto “homo ex humo” (‘man from the ground’, or ‘dust’); a variety of anatomical views of the human body projected on drapery or foregrounding mysterious landscapes; birds in biblical landscapes augmented by baffling cyphers; comparative snowflakes with the text “thesauri nivis” or “treasures of snow”; and much more. http://nyamcenterforhistory.org/2013/08/27/physica-sacra-johannes-jacob-scheuchzer-1731-guest-post-by-morbid-anatomys-joanna-ebenstein/

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Size

31.5 x 19.9cm (12.4" x 7.8")
Sheet: 40.5 x 24.5cm (15.9" x 9.6")
Plate: 31.5 x 20cm (12.4" x 7.9")