Folio leaf from De Piscibus by Ulisse Aldrovandi. Bologna, N. Thebaldini, 1638. Page 563-564. Hand colour applied to the large woodcut of the Attilus verus ex Pado — the true Attilus of the Po River, identified as the great beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) — depicted in vivid teal-blue with golden-brown dorsal scutes, a pale golden belly stripe, and a finely detailed head showing the characteristic rostrum and barbels. The verso (p.564) carries two uncoloured woodcuts: the Antaceus Boristhenis (Black Sea sturgeon) under the chapter heading De Antaceo Boristhenis Rondeletij, and the opening of De Antaceo Stellari (stellate sturgeon), each with decorated woodcut initials — giving the leaf unusual richness on both sides.
Engraved by Cristoforo Coriolano (Lederer, b. Nuremberg c.1540), whose woodcuts Aldrovandi himself praised as so refined they resembled copperplate engravings. Aldrovandi (1522–1605), described by contemporaries as the Pontifex Maximus of natural history, produced in De Piscibus one of the most exhaustive and visually remarkable fish encyclopedias of the Renaissance.
References: Nissen ZBI 70; Nissen, Fischb. 7; Westwood/Satchell 3; Huber 56.
Condition: Good. Minor staining to outer margin. Hand colour fresh and unfaded.
Folio dimensions: 35 × 23.8 cm (13.8 × 9.4 inches).
Folio leaf from De Piscibus by Ulisse Aldrovandi. Bologna, N. Thebaldini, 1638. Page 563-564. Hand colour applied to the large woodcut of the Attilus verus ex Pado — the true Attilus of the Po River, identified as the great beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) — depicted in vivid teal-blue with golden-brown dorsal scutes, a pale golden belly stripe, and a finely detailed head showing the characteristic rostrum and barbels. The verso (p.564) carries two uncoloured woodcuts: the Antaceus Boristhenis (Black Sea sturgeon) under the chapter heading De Antaceo Boristhenis Rondeletij, and the opening of De Antaceo Stellari (stellate sturgeon), each with decorated woodcut initials — giving the leaf unusual richness on both sides.
Engraved by Cristoforo Coriolano (Lederer, b. Nuremberg c.1540), whose woodcuts Aldrovandi himself praised as so refined they resembled copperplate engravings. Aldrovandi (1522–1605), described by contemporaries as the Pontifex Maximus of natural history, produced in De Piscibus one of the most exhaustive and visually remarkable fish encyclopedias of the Renaissance.
References: Nissen ZBI 70; Nissen, Fischb. 7; Westwood/Satchell 3; Huber 56.
Condition: Good. Minor staining to outer margin. Hand colour fresh and unfaded.
Folio dimensions: 35 × 23.8 cm (13.8 × 9.4 inches).
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