Turquoise Ixia

By Pierre-Joseph Redouté

This superb stipple engraving is the work of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, often referred to as "the Raphael of flowers". He produced it as part of his masterpiece, Les Liliacées, first printed between 1802 and 1816, and it illustrates the spectacular and exotic Turquoise Ixia (Ixia Viridiflora). It includes a tall, elegant spike with starry, seagreen to turquoise flowers, each highlighted with a deep violet-purple eye.

Surrounded by slim, sword-like leaves, Redouté's famed stipple engraving technique brilliantly conveys the delicate translucent quality of the petals, along with the artificial-looking color of this rare South African plant. Highly desirable for collectors of antique prints of the highest caliber, or for use in interior decor.