Dutch Botanical Engraving From Hortus Indicus Malabaricus by Rheede Tot Draakestein

Details

Description

The Garden of Malabar: A Foundational Work of Tropical Botany

Object: Hand-Colored Engraving Plate
Source: Hortus Indicus Malabaricus (The Garden … Read more The Garden of Malabar: A Foundational Work of Tropical Botany

Object: Hand-Colored Engraving Plate
Source: Hortus Indicus Malabaricus (The Garden of Malabar), Volumes 1-12
Creator/Compiler: Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Draakestein
Engraver/Artist: B. Stoopendael (Engraver), Father Mattheus à St. Joseph (Illustrator)
Date: Circa 1678-1693
Origin: Published in Amsterdam; Compiled in Cochin, Malabar (India)
Medium: Hand-Colored Copperplate Engraving on Laid Paper

Dimensions: 21 1/2 inches high x 25 1/2 inches wide.

This meticulously detailed hand-colored engraving originates from Hortus Indicus Malabaricus, one of the most important and comprehensive botanical works ever compiled. This vast, 12-volume treatise systematically documented the flora of the Malabar Coast of India during the Dutch colonial period .

The piece is a testament to the ambitious scope of the project, which was conceived by Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede, the Governor of Dutch Malabar. Unlike European herbals focused purely on medicinal properties, the Hortus was a systematic flora, classifying tropical and subtropical plants with unparalleled detail in Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, and Malayalam, making it a singular achievement in ethnobotany and scientific history.

Historical Context: Collaboration and Enlightenment

The true significance of the Hortus Malabaricus lies in its unprecedented cross-cultural collaboration. Rather than relying solely on European scholarship, van Rheede enlisted a team that included Dutch officials, artists (such as the Italian Carmelite priest Father Mattheus who did many of the drawings), and crucially, four native Indian physicians (Vaidyan), including Itti Achuden. These local experts provided the essential ethnomedical knowledge, which was rigorously documented and verified—a collaboration noted in the book's preface itself.

The presence of the PVL countermark (for Dutch papermaker Pieter van der Ley) and the framing technique (sandwiched between glass in an ivory resin frame) place this particular print within a lineage of highly prized 17th-century natural history illustrations. Pieces from the Hortus were, and still are, considered major reference works, revered as much for their scientific accuracy as for their historical rarity.

References

Whitehouse, Thomas: Historical Notices of Cochin (for detailed accounts of the book's compilation process).

Dr. K. S. Manilal: Modern translations and critical studies of the Hortus Malabaricus.

The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation: Collections and studies on 17th-century Dutch natural history publications.

The British Library / Library of Congress: Holdings and information on the original engraved volumes.

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