We reveal the enigmatic origin of one of the earliest surviving botanical collections. The 16th-century Italian En Tibi herbarium is a large, luxurious book with c. 500 dried plants, made in the... Show moreWe reveal the enigmatic origin of one of the earliest surviving botanical collections. The 16th-century Italian En Tibi herbarium is a large, luxurious book with c. 500 dried plants, made in the Renaissance scholarly circles that developed botany as a distinct discipline. Its Latin inscription, translated as “Here for you a smiling garden of everlasting flowers”, suggests that this herbarium was a gift for a patron of the emerging botanical science. We follow an integrative approach that includes a botanical similarity estimation of the En Tibi with contemporary herbaria (Aldrovandi, Cesalpino, “Cibo”, Merini, Estense) and analysis of the book’s watermark, paper, binding, handwriting, Latin inscription and the morphology and DNA of hairs mounted under specimens. Rejecting the previous origin hypothesis (Ferrara, 1542–1544), we show that the En Tibi was made in Bologna around 1558. We attribute the En Tibi herbarium to Francesco Petrollini, a neglected 16th-century botanist, to whom also belongs, as clarified herein, the controversial “Erbario Cibo” kept in Rome. The En Tibi was probably a work on commission for Petrollini, who provided the plant material for the book. Other people were apparently involved in the compilation and offering of this precious gift to a yet unknown person, possibly the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand I. The En Tibi herbarium is a Renaissance masterpiece of art and science, representing the quest for truth in herbal medicine and botany. Our multidisciplinary approach can serve as a guideline for deciphering other anonymous herbaria, kept safely “hidden” in treasure rooms of universities, libraries and museums. Show less
Stefanaki, A.; Thijsse, G.; Uffelen, G. van; Eurlings, M.C.M.; Andel, T.R. van 2018
‘Here for you a smiling garden of everlasting flowers’ is the inscription in Latin of a 16th century Italian herbarium kept in Leiden, the Netherlands, since 1690. The origin and botanical content... Show more‘Here for you a smiling garden of everlasting flowers’ is the inscription in Latin of a 16th century Italian herbarium kept in Leiden, the Netherlands, since 1690. The origin and botanical content of this herbarium, one of the oldest in existence today, have remained largely unknown. Here we present the plants included in this so-called ‘En Tibi’ herbarium, which comprises 473 specimens (455 taxa, 97 families), and discuss the geographical provenance of the book based on certain plant traits. The En Tibi is of great historical value as it contains some of the earliest herbarium records of numerous species, among which are useful plants such as oregano, thyme, tomato and hot pepper. Although prepared as a present, the En Tibi is a fine example of new botanical trends that arose in 16th century Italy. It is an attempt to reconstruct the herbals of classical authors such as Dioscorides, Theophrastus and Pliny, not with illustrations but with actual plant individuals. More than just a collection of medicinal plants, the En Tibi shows an emerging interest in the study of taxonomy and the discovery of new plants, unknown to classical authors. Analysis of the intrinsic and extrinsic traits of the plants reveals a temperate-Mediterranean origin, suggesting that the book was made in central or north–central Italy. Our botanical identification is the first necessary step to further elucidate the origin of the En Tibi and trace the mysterious compiler of this magnificent collection. Show less
