Georg Eberhard Rumphius (1627-1702) was a German botanist employed by the Dutch East India Company. He spent much of the second half of the 17th century in Ambon, first as a merchant but later given dispensation to dedicate his full attention to the study of the flora and fauna of the Spice Islands. Rumphius is presented in this portrait surrounded by his objects of study - the plants and shells on the table, and the animal specimens on the wall. His blindness, as a result of glaucoma, is emphasized not just in how his eyes are depicted but in his clutching of the specimens on the table.The engraving is the work of Jacobus de Later and printed by Francois Halma as the frontispiece of D'Amboinsche Rariteitkamer, first published 1705. It was based on an original portrait by Rumphius's son, Paul August.
