Created in Amsterdam between 1697 and 1701, these hand-colored copper plate engravings are from Horti Medici Amstelodamensis Rariorum tam Orientalis, quam Occidentalis Indiae, aliarumque Peregrinarum Plantarum.
This magnificent record of the exotic plants in the Amsterdam Physic Garden was produced by its director, Jan Commelin.
The gardens were undergoing substantial enlargement during this time mainly due to introductions of plants from the Dutch East and West Indies by the Dutch Indies Company.
This expensive and finely illustrated folio reflected the interest shown by the Dutch in the flora of their colonial possessions and was Commelin's most important contribution to botanical knowledge.
