Signa antiqua e museo Jacobi de Wilde veterum poetarum carminibus illustrata et per Mariam filiam aeri inscripta
Titelvignet door A. Schoonebeek, 2 portretten van Maria de Wilde door P. van den Berge, 61 prenten door Maria de Wilde
First and only edition of an attractive display of the statues of the Museum Wildeanum, once housed on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. The Dutch tax collector Jacob de Wilde (1645–1721) began the collection, containing gems, coins, scientific instruments and statues. "This attractive account of a Dutch cabinet of the late seventeenth century is as much a eulogy of Maria de Wilde's gifts as an engraver as of her father's museum" (Grinke). The plates by Maria de Wilde (1682–1729) show the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman statues in the museum. The 6 text leaves include a brief introduction and several laudatory poems directed at Maria de Wilde and her engravings. The collection drew some important visitors, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great in 1697, whose visit is illustrated on the engraved folding plate. After De Wilde's death, the tsar acquired part of the collection for his "Kunstkamera", the first museum in Russia, which was completed in 1727.
Special collections
Speciale collecties