1735 – J. J. Scheuchzer – Onager Zecora

Title:                     “Onager Zecora – Africanischer Wald-Esel”
                              (The Wild Ass, or Zebra – African Forest Ass)
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Description:

This is plate DXVI (516) from Johann Jakob Scheuchzer’s monumental “Copper Bible”, together with its accompanying Dutch text. It comes from Geestelyke Natuurkunde, the first Dutch edition of the Physica Sacra, published in Amsterdam by Petrus Schenk in 1735–1738. The translation is by F. H. J. van Halen. Scheuchzer (1672–1733) was a Zurich physician and naturalist, and he set out to explain the natural history of every creature and phenomenon named in the Bible. The original Augsburg and Ulm edition (1731–1735) has more than 750 large copper plates, each set within an elaborate baroque frame. The Dutch edition was printed from the same plates, which keep their Latin and German captions.

The plate illustrates Job 11:12, where vain man is “born like a wild ass’s colt”. Scheuchzer identifies the biblical onager with the African zebra, captioned “Onager Zecora” and “Africanischer Wald-Esel” (African forest ass). Two zebras stand in the foreground beneath tall palms. Behind them a herd of wild asses gallops across the plain and climbs the rocky mountains, the creatures of the desert and the heights described in the Book of Job. The plate is signed “I. A. Fridrich sculps.” (Jakob Andreas Fridrich, 1684–1751). It is one of the most decorative animal plates in the series and an early European image of the zebra.

With it comes the Dutch text leaf, headed “Natuurkunde – Printblad DXVI” (p. 847). It quotes the verse from the Dutch States Bible, “al wordt de mensch als het veulen eens woudezels geboren”, followed by Scheuchzer’s commentary.

Cartographer/Artist:    Johann Jakob Scheuchzer

Engraver:                      Jakob Andreas Fridrich

Publisher:                    Petrus Schenk, Amsterdam (Dutch edition; plates from the Augsburg edition published by Johann Andreas Pfeffel)

Atlas:                              Geestelyke Natuurkunde (Dutch edition of Physica Sacra)
Sheet size:                   40.7 x 23.7 cm
Year:                               1735
Technique:                  copper engraving

Reference:                 STCN 183499905; Nissen ZBI 3661

Condition:
Good. The plate has wide margins and a strong, dark impression with fine detail. The paper is lightly toned, with faint soiling and minor wear at the sheet edges. The text leaf is clean and crisp, and the engraved area is clean.
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This is an original antique engraving published in 1735 and NOT a modern copy or reprint

 

On your request I will provide a Certificate of Authenticity