Exquisite c. 1840s German Zoological Watercolor: Unusual Variety of Snake-like Creatures! old tin cooking dish Photos document first one

Photos document first one

I love the combination of drinking poem on one side paired with image of mother bird feeding her young on the opposite

not identified as Fornasetti by the dealer

5 9/16" x 3 9/16

Exquisite c. 1840s German Zoological Watercolor: Unusual Variety of Snake-like Creatures! old tin cooking dish Photos document first oneThis is not a hand colored engraving, it is an original, beautifully executed ink and watercolor drawingone of several I purchased from a seller in Germany, and which appear all done by the same person, c. 1840s I believe. Whether made in advance of, or after, an engraving for a zoological volume I am not certain (though I'd guess the former) whatever the case, quite spectacular, and with the fantastic execution amplifying a sense of wonder at