Artocarpus, Pl. 745 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

The breadfruit tree Artocarpus, whose starchy fruit sustained Pacific Island cultures, documented here as European explorers brought specimens back for scientific study.

After J. E. de Sève; engraved by Robert Bénard. Botanique, Plate 745, from the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Published in Paris, c. 1795.

The Encyclopédie Méthodique expanded upon Diderot and d'Alembert's original Encyclopédie, reorganising knowledge into subject-specific dictionaries with thousands of newly commissioned plates. Its depiction of tropical economic plants reflected the era's growing interest in colonial botany and the potential of newly discovered species.

Copperplate engraving on laid paper, approximately 29.7 × 21.6 cm. Very Good.