A microscopical slides cabinet by Abraham Ypelaar, the wonders of nature in miniature
Abraham Ypelaar (1739–1811) was trained as a diamond setter in Amsterdam and, from a young age, had a fascination for science and microscopy in particular. Through his experience working on a small scale, he began as a personal pastime to create microscopic preparations of all kinds of specimens from nature.
He later turned this hobby into his profession and became a preparator of zoological, botanical, and inorganic microscopic specimens.
The auction house Veilinggebouw De Zwaan will offer a cabinet of preparations divided into eighteen drawers in this sale. The transparent and opaque preparations are fully documented in two manuscript booklets and are signed by Abraham Ypelaar and provided with his wax seal.
The small specimens, mounted in bone rings, display meticulously arranged insects, seeds, seaweeds, shells, fish, minerals, types of wood, sands, flowers, and plants. All of this is housed in a mahogany Louis XVI table cabinet with a sliding door.
The Museum Boerhaave in Leiden holds comparable cabinets in its collection.
Lot number 2038.
