Description
Albertus Seba's Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauriaccurata descriptio
This stunning folio engraving is from Albertus Seba’s Locupletissimi Rerum naturalium Thesauri. The work was published in Amsterdam by J. Weststen, William Smith, & Jansson-Waesburg between 1735 and 1769. Seba utilized leading scientists to aid in creating Locupletissimi… including H. Boerhaave, P. van Musschenbroek, P. Massuet, H. D. Graubius, and P. Artedi.
Seba developed an interest in exotic species from his travels on the East and West Indies and purchases from world travelers. Many of the plates from the work depicted specimens from Seba’s own collection. The sensational engravings are both scientifically accurate and aesthetically appealing.
Seba’s “cabinet of curiosities” included beautiful and bizarre subjects and attracted many natural historians, including Carolus Linnaeus. Not lacking humor, Seba placed fake specimens in his cabinet including a seven-headed hydra in order to attract attention. Some of Seba’s original collection is still on display in museums around the world.