Seeds of Knowledge

From October 6, 2023 through January 14, 2024, The Morgan Library & Museum in NY hosts the exhibition Seeds of Knowledge. Early Modern Illustrated Herbals - highlighting the collection of 15th to 17th-century European printed herbals of Dr. Peter Goop, one of the most extensive collection in private hands.
Using the Morgan Library’s 10th-century manuscript of Dioscorides’ De materia medica (MS M.652) as a centerpiece, this exhibition explores the developments in the understanding of the healthful and healing properties of plants, as Europe moved away from medicinal folklore towards an increased understanding of the natural world.

Herbals between 15th and 16th century were highly illustrated, critical texts to doctors and lay healthcare providers that included both the folkloric and medicinal uses of plants. The text and illustrations were repeatedly refined as the medicinal benefits of a plant’s use were more clearly understood and the style of illustration tended towards higher degrees of naturalism. These books were working manuals and frequently annotated by readers with notes of herbal recipes/medicines or other uses not found in the printed text.

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