Portrait of Samuel de Leon Benavente. Mezzotint print by Peter Schenk, after painting by Michiel van Musscher. [Amsterdam?, ca. 1701].

Samuel de Leon Benavente (1643-1723), a Jewish physician and surgeon renowned for his expertise in extracting kidney stones. During his time, this procedure was undertaken by only a select few doctors, given the significant risks it posed to patients' lives.

Printed in the margins is a rhymed poem dedicated to Benavente by the Dutch poet Hermanus Angelkot: "Dit 's Benavente die door kunst, en door geluk / Den steen haalt uijt de Blaas, en uit het hart den druk" [literally: "this is Benavente who, through skill and through luck, removes the stone from the bladder and relieves the pressure from the heart."]

28.5X19.5 cm. Good condition. Few pinholes. Inscription to margins.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.