Vintage Botanical Print No. 110
Buy this print on Etsy →A rich and beautiful botanical plate, this is the pomegranate (Punica granatum) from the celebrated German reference 'Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen' (Köhler's Medicinal Plants), published in the 1880s. A leafy branch bears a single glowing red pomegranate, while two cross-sections reveal the fruit's famous chambers packed with glistening ruby seeds, and a row of fine botanical studies details the flower, pips and skin. It is science and sensuous colour combined - one of the most decorative of all the old medicinal illustrations.
The pomegranate is one of the most storied fruits in human history. Native to the region between Iran and northern India and cultivated for thousands of years, it appears again and again in myth, religion and art as a symbol of abundance, fertility and eternal life - from ancient Persia to the legend of Persephone. It was valued as a medicine too, which is exactly why it earned a place in Köhler's great catalogue of healing plants, here classified among the flowering fruit trees.
'Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen' set the gold standard for botanical illustration, its chromolithographs pairing the accuracy a pharmacist needed with a natural grace that still stops people in their tracks. Each plate shows the whole living plant alongside the tiny anatomical details, a format that reads beautifully as modern wall art.
And as wall art this one is a jewel. The deep reds and greens against warm aged paper bring instant richness and warmth to a space. It is a natural for a kitchen, dining room or pantry, a bathroom or a plant-filled room, and it slots effortlessly into cottagecore, farmhouse, botanical and eclectic interiors. It looks wonderful grouped with other fruit or botanical plates, and it makes a lovely gift for cooks, gardeners, foodies and anyone drawn to vintage nature illustration.
Because the original was published in the 1880s, it now sits firmly in the public domain, which is why we can reproduce it at full museum quality.
Each print is produced on premium 189 gsm museum-grade archival matte paper, faithfully capturing the deep red of the fruit, the ruby seeds and the soft warmth of the antique paper - ready to frame and enjoy for years to come.
