Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux - photo 1
Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux - photo 2
Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux - photo 3
Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux - photo 4

Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux

Lot 102
19.10.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 100
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
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ID 1032754
Lot 102 | Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux
Estimate value
$ 18 000 – 25 000
Bernard PALISSY (c.1510-c.1589). Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fonteines, tant naturelles qu’artificielles, des metaux, des sels & salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu & des emaux. Avec plusieurs autres excellens secrets des choses naturelles. Paris: Martin le Jeune, 1580.

An unpressed and unrestored copy of the first edition, in its original binding, of Palissy's most important work: his rare dialogic treatise on mineralogy, geology, and the chemical processes of the arts including glassmaking, ceramics, and enamelling. Bernard Palissy was a self-taught artist and Protestant agitator who is most famous now for his astonishing lead-glazed ceramics which teem with animal forms cast from life. After glimpsing the entrancing perfection of a white enamel cup in 1540 (possibly Chinese porcelain), he took his family to the brink of poverty and himself to the edge of madness in pursuit of the chemical secrets which would allow him to make his own.

Although never able to replicate what he had seen, his experiments led him to both the work would make him a favorite of even the Catholic nobility as well as an intimate knowledge of the chemical compositions of the mineral world. The present treatise is an expression of these discoveries in the form of a dialogue between "Theory" and "Practice." In it, he addresses an incredible array of topics, from ceramic techniques, metallurgy, and chemistry to hydrology, geology, and fossils—including a persistent and idiosyncratic obsession with the process of petrification, which he viewed as akin to the potter's art.

"There is little doubt that Palissy was probably one of the first men in France to teach natural sciences from facts, specimens, and demonstrations rather than hypotheses" (DSB). Despite having no formal education, many of the conclusions Palissy drew from his experimentations were ahead of their time. He correctly identified fossils as the remains of ancient life; "he was one of the few men of his century to have a correct notion of the origins of rivers and streams, and he stated it forcefully, denying categorically that rivers can have any source other than rainfall … his classification of salts was nearly correct; and he suggested the concept of superposition for the development of sedimentary rocks" (DSB). Although he rails against alchemists in the present text for their hubris and incorrect ideas, he would claim on his deathbed to have discovered the philosopher's stone. Duveen p 446 ("A book of great importance in the history of chemistry and science generally ... Extremely rare"); Norman 1629. For more on Palissy's theories of petrification and art, see William Newman, Promethean Ambitions (2005).

Octavo (160 x 110mm). Woodcut headpieces and initials (some faint waterstaining at margins). Contemporary limp vellum wrapper (wrapper separating from text block, but sewing sturdy, lacking ties). Custom box. Provenance: various older shelf marks and bibliographic notes, remains of wax seal on title).
Artist:Bernard Palissy (1510 - 1589)
Place of origin:France
Auction house category:Medicine & science, Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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10020 New York
USA
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