Mediaeval Gift: A Book of Curative Plants Owned by K. F. Bogaevskii

This article presents a volume found in K. F. Bogaevskii’s personal library, an antique edition of 1626, the Herbal Book by the Italian physician and scientist Pietro Andrea Mattioli. This book, printed in Frankfurt am Main, is the fourth German edition with amendments by the physician Joachim Camerarius to discuss the medicinal plants of the Alpine region and the ways of their use for medicinal purposes. The study and translation of the handwritten inscriptions has revealed that two of them (including the presentation inscription to K. F. Bogaevskii of 1913) were made by P. Iu. Durante, the mother of the artist’s wife Zh. G. Bogaevskaia. The authors of other inscriptions remain obscure. The graphic design of the book, such as the title page, illustrations in the text, the ornamental vignette, and the final decoration, has been analysed. The illustrations were possibly made by Jost Amman, a Swiss painter and graphic artist from the mid- to late-sixteenth century. The composition of the title page frame has been determined, as it is based on the cartouches with scenes and symmetrically located allegoric and mythological figures, as well as the artefacts and ornamental elements. The graphic design of the title page and final decoration is related to the contents of the Herbal Book emphasising its practical value. P. A. Mattioli’s Herbal Book, being a profound catalogue of plants, supplied with the index to allow the reader quickly finding the necessary sections in a voluminous folio, and decorated with engravings including numerous masterfully made illustrations, certainly was a rare edition in K. F. Bogaevskii’s private library. The painter was possibly interested in this book primarily as an example of Renaissance publishing, showing complicated contents and figurative structure of its artistic design, and the high level of graphics.