Andrachne (Monœcia; Gynandria), Pl. 797 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

A hand-coloured engraving from the Botanique section of the monumental French Encyclopédie Méthodique, one of the great scientific publishing enterprises of the eighteenth century.

Robert Bénard (engraver), after Henri-Joseph Redouté. Published in Paris, 1775.

The Encyclopédie Méthodique expanded upon Diderot and d’Alembert’s original Encyclopédie, commissioning fresh illustrations from leading natural-history draughtsmen. The botanical plates are prized for their scientific precision and delicate hand-colouring, which was applied to each sheet individually at the time of publication.

Hand-coloured copperplate engraving. Sheet size approximately 29.0 × 21.5 cm. Excellent.