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Framed and on the wall
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Flora and Fauna
Antique Banana Botanical Chromolithograph by Hoola van Nooten, c. 1880
$1,390
€1,240 · £1,040
Original print, not a reproduction
Ships worldwide from the Netherlands, insured and tracked. 14-day returns.
- Date
- 1880
- Sheet size
- 21.9 × 15.7 in (55.5 × 40 cm)
- Condition
- Good. Good antique condition with age-related toning, occasional foxing and light handling wear consistent with age. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form part of the description.
- Collection
- Flora and Fauna
- Period
- Netherlands Indies, 1850 and after
- Stock no.
- f_51121992
- Color
- Printed color
What the condition grades mean
- Excellent
- Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
- Very good
- Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
- Good
- Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
- Fair
- Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Title: Antique Banana Botanical Chromolithograph by Hoola van Nooten, c. 1880
Description:
A magnificent original antique botanical chromolithograph depicting Musa paradisiaca L., commonly known as the Banana or Plantain. One of the world's oldest cultivated food plants, the banana has been a cornerstone of tropical agriculture for thousands of years and remains among the most important fruit crops on earth. It has long been cultivated throughout Indonesia and the Dutch East Indies, where it formed an essential part of daily life and commerce.
The composition beautifully illustrates a mature bunch of ripening bananas attached to the characteristic pseudostem, together with finely executed botanical studies of the flowers and floral structure. The elegant arrangement, rich golden fruit, and bold architectural form make this one of the most striking and recognizable fruit plates from Berthe Hoola van Nooten's celebrated botanical masterpiece.
The artwork was painted from life on the island of Java by the distinguished Dutch botanical artist Berthe Hoola van Nooten (1817 to 1892). It was published in her masterpiece, Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java, widely regarded as one of the finest nineteenth-century botanical publications devoted to the flora of the Dutch East Indies. Printed in rich chromolithography by P. De Pannemaeker of Ghent, this plate was issued in the third edition published in Brussels by Librairie Européenne C. Muquardt around 1880.
Bananas have become one of the world's most universally recognized fruits, valued not only for their nutritional importance but also for their symbolic association with tropical landscapes. This original antique print combines botanical precision, historical significance, and outstanding decorative appeal, making it one of the finest fruit subjects in the Hoola van Nooten series.
This is an original antique print, printed circa 1880, and not a modern reproduction or later copy.
Artist:
Berthe Hoola van Nooten (1817 to 1892)
Publication:
Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java
Publisher:
Librairie Européenne C. Muquardt, Brussels
Printer:
P. De Pannemaeker, Ghent
Circa 1880
Medium:
Original chromolithograph on wove paper.
Good antique condition with age-related toning, occasional foxing and light handling wear consistent with age. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form part of the description.
The print is sold unframed.
