Portrait Print

Object Details

Description (Brief): Possibly a portrait of Albertus Seba. He is seated in the bottom center of the print in a large chair. He is pointing a finger on his left hand to a jar on a table beside him. In the background on the right side is an interior of a pharmacy. There is a man in the shop using a mortar and pestle. In the background on the far left there is a large house with gardens and fountain. Note the three containers on the table which have triangular paper labels tied to their necks.; Seba was a pharmacist and collector of natural history objects in Amsterdam . He illustrated a number of his objects for a Thesaurus on the subject. Most of his collection was sold to Czar Arskine of St. Pesters. He was born in Etzel in 1665 and died in Amsterdam in 1736.
Description: This print, unsigned and uncaptioned, depicts a wealthy and learned man with a fine estate and a large apothecary shop. The subject may be Albertus Seba (1665-1736), a pharmacist and natural historian in Amsterdam famed for his large cabinets of curiosities.
Location: Currently not on view

Credit Line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Physical Description: paper (overall material); ink (overall material); black (overall color); white (overall color); engraving (overall production method/technique)
Measurements: overall: 16.3 cm x 10.2 cm; 6 7/16 in x 4 in; image: 13.9 cm x 8.5 cm; 5 1/2 in x 3 3/8 in

Related Publication: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Medicine; European Apothecary; Religion; Art

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-b6cf-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa