Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Antique Dipteres Engraving – Giant Flies & Robber Flies, circa 1800

$341.28
£252.89
€290VAT Included
CA$475.08
A$483.32
CHF 277.72
MX$5,811.98
NOK 3,242.38
SEK 3,261.79
DKK 2,211.26

About the Item

Antique Dipteres Engraving – Giant Flies & Robber Flies, French Natural History c.1800 This striking antique natural history engraving depicts Dipteres—two-winged insects including robber flies and large predatory fly species—rendered with remarkable clarity and visual presence. Issued circa 1800 for the Dictionnaire Universel d’Histoire Naturelle, this plate is Diptères, Plate 1, engraved after drawings by Jean Baptiste Blanchard, one of the most accomplished French scientific illustrators of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The map is offered unframed, enabling custom framing to personal or interior preferences. The composition is dominated by boldly scaled insects shown with wings fully extended, their bodies meticulously engraved and highlighted with original hand coloring in warm ambers, deep blacks, soft greys, and honeyed yellows. The central figures create a strong vertical rhythm, while smaller accompanying specimens provide balance and taxonomic context. Fine wing veining, bristled legs, and segmented bodies are rendered with exceptional precision, underscoring both the scientific accuracy and decorative strength of the plate. Originally produced as an educational illustration for the study of entomology, this engraving now functions equally well as a decorative work of art. Its symmetrical layout, restrained palette, and generous white margins give it a calm yet commanding presence that translates beautifully into contemporary interiors. Displayed on its own, it works particularly well in studies, libraries, dining rooms, or curated gallery walls where antique scientific imagery adds depth and sophistication. Single Dipteres plates of this quality and visual impact are increasingly sought after, especially examples with strong original color and well-preserved margins. This sheet offers an excellent balance of scientific interest and interior appeal. The map is offered unframed, enabling custom framing to personal or interior preferences. Condition report: Original antique copper engraving with original hand coloring. Light, even age toning throughout, with minor spotting and gentle handling marks consistent with age. Margins intact with no significant losses. Overall a clean and attractive example. Framing tips: Frame in dark walnut, ebonized wood, or smoked oak with a slim to medium-width profile. A wide warm-ivory mat will emphasize the engraving detail and maintain the airy composition. Museum or UV-filtering glass is recommended. Technique: Copper engraving with original hand coloring Maker: Jean Baptiste Blanchard (after), France, circa 1800
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 9.18 in (23.3 cm)Width: 5.75 in (14.6 cm)Depth: 0.01 in (0.2 mm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    ca.1800
  • Condition:
    Original antique copper engraving with original hand coloring. Light, even age toning throughout, with minor spotting and gentle handling marks consistent with age. Margins intact with no significant losses. Overall a clean and attractive example.
  • Seller Location:
    Langweer, NL
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: BG-14199-31stDibs: LU3054348271052

More From This Seller

View All
Set of Five Antique Prints of Flies and Hymenoptera Insects, 1861

Set of Five Antique Prints of Flies and Hymenoptera Insects, 1861

Located in Langweer, NL

Set of 5 original antique prints of diptera (flies) and hymenoptera insects. These prints originate from 'Dictionnaire universel d'Histoire Naturelle' by d'Orbigny. Published 1861. Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny was a French botanist and geologist specializing in the Tertiary of France. At the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, d'Orbigny identified many of the flowering plant species returned to France from his brother's natural history collecting...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Prints

Materials

Paper

Antique Dragonfly Prints, Neuropteres Plates 3 & 6, Copper Engravings, ca.1800

Antique Dragonfly Prints, Neuropteres Plates 3 & 6, Copper Engravings, ca.1800

Located in Langweer, NL

Antique Dragonfly Prints, Neuropteres Plates 3 & 6, Copper Engravings, ca.1800 This refined pair of antique natural history engravings depicts dragonflies and related Neuroptere...

Category

Antique Early 19th Century French Prints

Materials

Paper

Pair of Antique Engravings of Beetles & Insects from Diderot’s Encyclopédie 1770

Pair of Antique Engravings of Beetles & Insects from Diderot’s Encyclopédie 1770

Located in Langweer, NL

Pair of Antique Engravings of Beetles and Insects from Diderot’s Encyclopédie, ca. 1770 A finely detailed pair of copperplate engravings from Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembe...

Category

Antique 1770s French Prints

Materials

Paper

Set of 3 Antique Prints of various Insects including Wasps and Flies

Set of 3 Antique Prints of various Insects including Wasps and Flies

Located in Langweer, NL

Set of three original antique prints of various wasps, various flies and horseflies with their larvae. These prints originate from 'Bilderbuch fur Kinder' by F.J. Bertuch. Friedrich ...

Category

Antique Early 19th Century Prints

Materials

Paper

Entomological Elegance: A Collection of 19th Century Beetle Engravings

Entomological Elegance: A Collection of 19th Century Beetle Engravings

Located in Langweer, NL

The images are finely detailed engravings of beetles from a 19th-century scientific collection. Each beetle is rendered with precision, showcasing their unique physical characteristics, such as the segmentation of their bodies, the texture of their carapaces, the patterns and colors of their wing covers (elytra), and the varying shapes and lengths of their antennae and legs. The species, as labeled in the engravings, are as follows: From the first image: 1. **Apidie** - Possibly a reference to the Apidae family, which includes bees, but in this context, it likely refers to a type of beetle. 2. **Attelabe** - Likely a variant of the name for beetles in the family Attelabidae, known as leaf-rolling beetles. 3. **Bousier** - Common French name for dung beetles, which are part of the Scarabaeidae family. 4. **Cétoine** - Refers to beetles in the subfamily Cetoniinae, known as flower beetles. 5. **Geotrupe** - A genus of earth-boring dung beetles. 6. **Hanneton** - Common French name for beetles in the family Scarabaeidae, particularly the June beetles or May bugs. 7. **Oryctes** - A genus that includes the rhinoceros beetles. 8. **Trichie** - Refers to beetles in the genus Trichius, which are often found in flowers and resemble small bumblebees. From the second image: 1. **Attelabe** - Again, likely referring to the Attelabidae family of leaf-rolling beetles. 2. **Calosoma** - A genus of ground beetles...

Category

Antique 1840s Prints

Materials

Paper

Set of 3 Antique Fly Prints – Sumatra Diptera Species c.1887

Set of 3 Antique Fly Prints – Sumatra Diptera Species c.1887

Located in Langweer, NL

Set of 3 Antique Fly Prints – Sumatra Diptera Species c.1880 Description: This set of three antique lithographs depicts various Diptera (fly) species from the Dutch natural history ...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century Dutch Prints

Materials

Paper

You May Also Like

Large Engraving of Winged-Insects by J-Ces Savigny c.1812

Large Engraving of Winged-Insects by J-Ces Savigny c.1812

Located in Savannah, GA

Marie Jules César Lelorgne de Savigny (French, 1777-1851) Offered is a framed hand-colored engraving by Savigny entitled “H.N. Zoologie Nevropteres”, plate 2 from Description de l'...

Category

Antique 1810s French Prints

Materials

Glass, Giltwood, Paper

Hymenoptera -Etching by Jean Francois Turpin - 1831

Hymenoptera -Etching by Jean Francois Turpin - 1831

By Pierre Jean François Turpin

Located in Roma, IT

This is one of the illustrations of " Dizionario di scienze naturali " (Natural sciences dictionary) edited by Battelli nel 1831.  The work was made of 29 volumes, containing hundred...

Category

1830s Modern Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Original Antique Print of Beetles, 1847, 'Unframed'

Original Antique Print of Beetles, 1847, 'Unframed'

Located in St Annes, Lancashire

Great image of beetles. Unframed. It gives you the option of perhaps making a set up using your own choice of frames. Lithograph after Cpt. brown with original color. Published, 1...

Category

Antique 1840s English Folk Art Prints

Materials

Paper

Bertuch Insects Wheat Weevil c. 1790s

Bertuch Insects Wheat Weevil c. 1790s

Located in Savannah, GA

Friedrich Justin Bertuch (Germany 1747-1822) Original handcolored engraving of "The Wheat Weevil” from the volume Harmful Insects of Bilderbuch für Kinder (Picture Book for Chil...

Category

Antique 1790s German Prints

Materials

Glass, Giltwood, Paper

Set of Six Framed 18th c. Engravings of Moths

Set of Six Framed 18th c. Engravings of Moths

Located in Greenwich, CT

A set of six original hand-colored engravings of rare and unusual moths. Plates from The Aurelian or Natural History of English Insects (1766) by Moses Harris. These engravings wer...

Category

Antique 1760s English Prints

Materials

Paper

Coleoptera - Etching by Jean Francois Turpin - 1831

Coleoptera - Etching by Jean Francois Turpin - 1831

By Pierre Jean François Turpin

Located in Roma, IT

This is one of the illustrations of "Dizionario di scienze naturali" (Natural sciences dictionary) edited by Battelli nel 1831.  The work was made of 29 volumes, containing hundreds ...

Category

1830s Modern Animal Prints

Materials

Etching