Bertuch "Nais Serpentina" Late 18th C Hand-colored Copper Engraving Staff of Aesculapius It is unmarked

It is unmarked

this nature of the carving leans more toward rustic than super refined

7/8" wide and deep

it seems that it might be pyrography

And so he will forever stand

Bertuch "Nais Serpentina" Late 18th C Hand-colored Copper Engraving Staff of Aesculapius It is unmarkedThis c. 1798 engraving comes from a volume published by Friedrich Justin Bertuch, (1747 1822) famous German publisher, patron of the arts and all around super interesting character worth a quick (or long!) search. Between 1790 and 1830 Betruch printed the "Bilderbuch fr Kinder", appearing in 12 volumes, and including color engravings of all manner of living things, and some mythic ones, too! These I think are renderings of pre or just hatched snakes