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The monkey was a symbol of taste through contagion by its other symbols: it was a symbol of the fall of man, which was in turn due to its symbolic association with baseness, its distorted 'similarity' to man
The text concerns Ceres and Bacchus, Roman deities of food

The five senses (Martin de Vos)

1 print : line engraving ; platemark 9.1 x 11.7 cm.

A female figure with bowls of fruit and a monkey; Eve picks the apple from the tree of knowledge; representing the sense of taste. Engraving by N. de Bruyn after M. de Vos.

The two references to the Jesuits may provide the key to the print. The Jesuit order was repressed in France in 1764. The gravestone from which the skeleton emerges says 'Here lies the Society of Jesus 17..' which may indicate the contemporaneity of the events surrounding the suppression of the Jesuits
A bearded god holds a pump to the dying man's head, to which the latter is holding his left hand; the names detailed below spume out of a funnel on the pump. A Medusa figure in a red skirt lunges at the dying man with a fork-tongued serpent and a dagger. Mercury stands behind her on a pedestal with the caduceus in his left hand. A skeleton in a blue priestly vestment blows out of a hole in the bottom left-hand corner and points at the man; behind him lurk a scythe and hourglass. Between the skeleton and the Medusa, a woman with a drum lies on the floor. Behind the bed a figure with "l'Academie" written above its blank face holds the hand of a blindfolded god who lifts a wreath above the dying man's head. One of the three gods pictured in the top right-hand corner holds a large leaf in the manner of a pen and in the other hand a mirror. In the bottom right-hand corner a harlequin with a puppet modelled upon himself turns the tap affixed to the head of a large, forlorn centaur which drips into the vase marked "Gouttes d'Hoffman"

1 print : etching, with watercolour ; image 30.4 x 40.8 cm

A dying man surrounded by fantastic and mythological figures. Coloured etching.

This engaging book focuses on the perennially fascinating topic of plants in Greek and Roman myth. The author, an authority on the gardens, art, and literature of the classical world, introduces the book's main themes with a discussion of gods and heroes in ancient Greek and Roman gardens. The following chapters recount the everyday uses and broader cultural meaning of plants with particularly strong mythological associations. These include common garden plants such as narcissus and hyacinth; pomegranate and apple, which were potent symbols of fertility; and sources of precious incense including frankincense and myrrh. Following the sweeping botanical commentary are the myths themselves, told in the original voice of Ovid, classical antiquity's most colorful mythographer. The volume's interdisciplinary approach will appeal to a wide audience, ranging from readers interested in archaeology, classical literature, and ancient history to garden enthusiasts. With an original translation of selections from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses, ' an extensive bibliography, a useful glossary of names and places, and a rich selection of images including exquisite botanical illustrations, this book is unparalleled in scope and realization.

144 pages : colour illustrations, colour map ; 23 cm

The mythology of plants : botanical lore from ancient Greece and Rome / Annette Giesecke.

2 volumes : plates (volumes2, some folded) ; (8vo)

Nouvelle galerie mythologique, comprenant la Galerie mythologique de feu A.L. Millin / revue et complétée ... par J.D. Guigniaut ... précédée d'une introduction contenant des vues sur les caractères généraux ... des religions de l'antiquité ... par le même, et un aperçu de ces religions dans leurs rapports avec l'art, par Alfred Maury.

The myths of Greece and Rome : their stories signification and origin / [H.A. Guerber].

xxvii, 98 pages, 50, that is, 51 pagesleaves of plates : illustrations, frontispiece ; (4to)

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A female figure with bowls of fruit and a monkey; Eve picks the apple from the tree of knowledge; representing the sense of taste. Engraving by N. de Bruyn after M. de Vos.

A dying man surrounded by fantastic and mythological figures. Coloured etching.

The mythology of plants : botanical lore from ancient Greece and Rome / Annette Giesecke.

The myths of Greece and Rome : their stories signification and origin / [H.A. Guerber].

Monumens du culte secret des dames romaines, pour servir de suite aux Monumens de la vie privée des XII Césars / [D'Hancarville].

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A female figure with bowls of fruit and a monkey; Eve picks the apple from the tree of knowledge; representing the sense of taste. Engraving by N. de Bruyn after M. de Vos.

A dying man surrounded by fantastic and mythological figures. Coloured etching.

The mythology of plants : botanical lore from ancient Greece and Rome / Annette Giesecke.

The myths of Greece and Rome : their stories signification and origin / [H.A. Guerber].

Monumens du culte secret des dames romaines, pour servir de suite aux Monumens de la vie privée des XII Césars / [D'Hancarville].

Stay in the know

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