Cheval

Cheval — marelibri

Arabian Horse History and Natural History Illustration: Hand Colored Lithograph from Charles d'Orbigny's Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle 1849

1849Best.-Nr. 144711849. D'Orbigny Charles ed. Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle 1849. Original hand-colored illustration of an Arabian horse published in one of the major French natural history encyclopedias of the nineteenth century. The Arabian horse developed over centuries of selective breeding on the Arabian Peninsula was renowned for its endurance agility and importance in transportation warfare and regional horse breeding. By the nineteenth century Arabian horses had also attracted considerable attention among European naturalists and breeders who studied their physical characteristics and influence on European bloodlines. The illustration belongs to this period of increasing scientific classification and documentation of domestic animal breeds. D'Orbigny Charles ed. Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 1849. Original hand-colored lithograph from the illustrated natural history encyclopedia edited by French naturalist Charles d'Orbigny 1806-1876. First-edition publication. Sheet measures approximately 9.5" x 6". The illustration depicts a standing Arabian horse in shades of tan and brown its head turned slightly toward the viewer against a sparsely rendered desert landscape. The horse's upright stance alert expression and carefully delineated musculature emphasize its physical characteristics. Hand coloring distinguishes the variations in the animal's coat and the surrounding terrain. D'Orbigny's Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle was published in multiple volumes during the 1830s and 1840s bringing together contemporary zoological botanical geological and other natural history scholarship. Its illustrated plates accompanied descriptions of animal species and breeds providing visual references for nineteenth-century French natural history education. The Arabian horse illustration records the breed as presented in European scientific publishing in 1849 combining zoological observation with the conventions of hand-colored animal portraiture. In excellent condition. unknown books