Botanical model of a strawberry flower by R. & R. Brendel

Botanical model of a strawberry flower or Fragaria vesca by Robert and Reinhold Brendel.
Papier-mâché and wood.
Germany.
Before 1900.
h. 16,5 in.

A botanical model of a strawberry flower, or Fragaria vesca, conceived in papier-mâché. Robert Brendel, followed by his son Reinhold Brendel, designed those flowers as educational tools for the students following botanic classes at German universities at the end of the 19th century.

The Fragaria vesca is part of the genus of Rosaceae. They bloom beside wild strawberry leaves in woodlands, from the middle of spring until early summer.

The Fragaria vesca flower model is mentioned in the Brendel's 1900 catalogue, 'Preisliste über Botanische Modelle... von R. Brendel' of 1900, no. 35, in the third section devoted to Obstgewächse, "fruit flowers".

The wooden base of this flower seems to have been swapped with that of an apple flower, the Pirus [sic] malus mentioned in the same catalogue, n° 33, most likely due to their similarity. It is probably the mistake of the curators of the collection where they were kept, that has now been dispersed. Discreet restoration to the flower and slight cracking to be seen.