Terracotta crystal model

Romé de L’Isle, Paris, 1785
Collection of 395 small (ca 3 cm) terra cotta models. The models were bought in Paris in 1785 by Martinus van Marum, the first director of the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The complete collection still resides in the museum.
The models were made by Romé de L’Isle’s coworkers Arnould Carangeot, Lhermina and Swebach-Desfontaines in order to stimulate the sales of the expensive 4 volume set of his book "Cristallographie" (1783).

Collection: Teylers Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands
all photographs © Teylers Museum Haarlem