Esper: Apatura iris
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Apatura iris

Depicted is the butterfly Apatura Iris, or the purple emperor,  in its male and female version, with its caterpillar and pupa. At the bottom of the drawing a handwritten description "Fig. 1 & 2. Pap. Iris mas & foem. a die Raupe, b. die Puppe"

Fine original watercolour by Eugen Johann Christoph Esper (1742-1810), a preliminary drawing for his book “Die Schmetterlinge in Abbildungen nach der Natur” published by Walther, Erlangen, and Weigel in Leipzig, 1777-1839.

Sheet size: 20 x 16,3 cm

Beautiful and rare drawin. A small fold at the upper margin, light toning of the paper, altogether in very good condition.

€ 480,-