A rare botanical engraving from 1764 by the prominent German engraver and publisher Adam Ludwig Wirsing (1733–1797).
This specific piece is Plate 49 from the renowned botanical masterpiece titled 'Hortus Nitidissimis omnem per annum superbiens floribus' ("The Most Splendid Garden Displaying Flowers All Year Round").
The work was compiled by the famous physician and botanist Christoph Jacob Trew and published in Nuremberg (Nürnberg).
"Koningin Esther" (Dutch for "Queen Esther"), is a botanical illustration of an English Iris variant named in her honor (Iris Anglica I). At the time, naming prized flower varieties after royalty or historical figures was a common trend among European botanists and florists.
The original painting was by Georg Dionysius Ehret and it was engraved by the celebrated Nuremberg based engraver Adam Ludwig Wirsing. He wasknown for his exceptional attention to detail.
Trew's 'Hortus Nitidissimis' is considered one of the finest and most luxurious florilegia of the 18th century, documenting the most beautiful cultivated flowers found in Central European gardens during that era.
