Bow Saw, Pincers, Nippers and Shears, Diderot Chirurgie Plate XXI, circa 1772

An original antique copper engraving, uncolored, from the Chirurgie plates of the Encyclopédie, showing six instruments drawn large on a plain ground. Fig. 1 is a bow saw: a shaped iron frame with a turned, swelling grip in its back, a long toothed blade tensioned across it by a winged nut, and a handle with a curled butt. Fig. 2 is a pair of heavy pincers with broad curved jaws and long bowed arms. Fig. 3 is a smaller pair of cutting nippers with short beveled jaws. Fig. 4 is a pair of shears with two leaf shaped blades crossing at a large pivot and arms ending in curled hooks. Fig. 5 is a mallet with a plain cylindrical head on a faceted handle. Fig. 6 is a long straight bar with curled ends.

The plate number is lettered "Pl. XXI." at the top right, the section "Chirurgie." is lettered below the border, and the page number "84." stands at the lower left. It is signed at the lower right with the conjoined AB monogram followed by "s.", the mark the Venetian engraver Antonio Baratti used on the Livorno plates (his full signature, "Antonio Baratti s.", is lettered on Pl. XII of this section).

Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie was accompanied by volumes of engraved plates, the Recueil de planches. The Livorno edition was published by Giuseppe Aubert, with its plate volumes appearing between 1771 and 1778, and this plate comes from its Chirurgie section, which sets out surgical instruments, bandages and apparatus and shows operations, the figures numbered and keyed to an explanation printed in the text volume.

The strong, clear forms of the saw and shears give the plate a graphic presence on the wall. The plate mark is visible around the image.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.