1049 Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Plate No. 26; Cocoa plant, caterpillar, pupa, and butterflies. Maria Sibylla Merian.

Cocoa, the sacred basis of chocolate.

Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Plate No. 26; Cocoa plant, caterpillar, pupa, and butterflies.

The Netherlands: 1705. Engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on watermarked Honig cream laid paper. 12 7/8 x 9 5/8 inches (327 x 245 mm), sheet 20 5/8 x 14 inches (522 x 354), full margins. Minor handling wear, and scattered light spots of minor discoloration throughout. Colors remain extremely vibrant. From the edition engraved by Pieter Sluyter, printed early between 1719 and 1730.

Translation of the original text regarding Plate No. 26: "This plate shows a branch of a Cacau boom [cocoa tree], of which the leaves are hard, stiff and grass-green. The trees grow as tall as an apple tree and bear simultaneously blossom, ripe and unripe fruits. The blossom is reddish and sprouts from either side of the wood. The young fruits are reddish-green. When they are ripe they are yellow like lemons. They have thick peels, which are used as fertilizer and as manure for the land.
The beans or seeds are dried and hardened in the shade before, they are sent to other countries. These trees grow very well in Suriname although they are difficult to cultivate, because they must always shelter under another tree, which protects them from the heat of the sun, since they cannot stand the great heat. That is why they are planted next to a banana or Bakoven when they are still young, in order to shield them from the heat.
On these cocoa trees I found large numbers of black caterpillars with red stripes, like the one shown on the green leaves, feeding on the foliage. They have red stripes with white spots. They are very slow and sluggish by nature. On 26 March I saw them turn into pupae, from which white moths emerged on 10 April, adorned with black stripes and spots."


Notes on the watermark:

"Watermarks representing the arms of Strasbourg, a bend on a •shield surmounted by a large fleur-de-lys, are characteristic of 'Royal Paper'; paper of the largest standard size and always of high quality. In various forms, the 'Strasbourg Lily' occurs in Angoumois, Dutch and English papers in the later seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The `WR' monogram at the bottom of the mark probably originated as the personal sign of Wendelin Riehel, a printer who rented a paper mill in Strasbourg during the sixteenth century; it was later widely used as a neat but meaningless termination to the pendant centre-line of many heraldic watermarks." [Viola a da Gamba Society, Appendix I: Watermarks and Paper Types, 268-272]

The design of the Strasbourg Lily was used by the Honig papermakers between 1741 and 1822. The lettering "C & I HONIG" occurs between 1730 and 1869. It is known that the brothers Cornelis Jacobszoon and Jan Jacobszoon Honig worked together under the name "C & I Honig" but started new companies, each one for himself, in 1738. Cornelis (1683-1755) continued under the name "C & I Honig," now together with his son Jacob Cornelisz Honig (1707-1770). [Klepikov, S. A., Some information over the "Honig" watermarks, IPH Information. Bulletin of the International Association of Paper Historians (IPH), N.S., vol. 6, no. 1 (January 1972), 10-13.]

Maria Sibylla Merian was one of the most highly respected entomologists of the 17th century, and remains today one of the field's most significant figures. A German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator, she reared herself on the study of caterpillars, and made tremendous contributions to the knowledge of the life cycles of numerous species. Until her detailed and careful study of the process of metamorphosis it was commonly believed that insects were "born of mud," through spontaneous generation. Trained as a miniature painter by her stepfather, she published her first book of illustrations in 1675, at the age of 28. In 1679, Merian published the first volume of the two-volume series on caterpillars, The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars and their Strange Diet of Flowers; the second volume followed in 1683. Each volume contained 50 plates that she engraved and etched.

In 1699, Merian traveled to Dutch Guiana with her daughter to study and record the tropical insects native to South America. The result was her 1705 magnum opus, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium. Merian's Metamorphosis has been credited with heavily influencing the way naturalists presented their illustrations to include a life form in various stages of development.

Years after her death, Merian has been honored by having a number of taxa and three genera named after her. According to Jennifer Pomeroy's 2018 biography, three butterflies have been named after Merian; in 1905 a form of a split-banded owlet butterfly Opsiphanes cassina merianae; in 1967 a subspecies of the common postman butterfly Heliconius melpomene meriana; and in 2018 a rare butterfly Catasticta sibyllae from Panamá. In addition, the Cuban sphinx moth has been named Erinnyis merianae, a Tessaratomidae bug has been named Plisthenes merianae, a genus of mantises has been named Sibylla, the orchid bee Eulaema meriana, and the bird-eating spider Avicularia merianae was named in her honor, referencing her research on spiders. The spider Metellina merianae was named after her in 2017. An Argentine tegu lizard has been named Salvator merianae. A toad was named Rhinella merianae. A snail was named Coquandiella meriana. The Madagascan population of the African stonechat bird was given the name Saxicola torquatus sibilla. A genus of flowering plants was named Meriania, and an iris-like plant was given the name Watsonia meriana. [Sarah B. Pomeroy; Jeyaraney Kathirithamby (2018). Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer. Getty Publications.].

Item number: 1049

Price: $5,300.00

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