In 1994 Czeslaw Slania engraved his final two banknotes for Brazil. It is the second and final banknote he engraved for Brazil that will be the focus of this blog. Slania engraved the reverse side of the R$1 banknote. The subject is hummingbirds. The engraving has been done in vertical or portrait format, and it is truly beautiful.
Below are a couple of close-ups.
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After studying this exquisite engraving I went on-line to try to identify the type of hummingbird depicted. I discovered that there are many different species of hummingbird in South America. None of the Slania dedicated literature was any help here. They all just say - hummingbird.
While looking at some of the different hummingbird species I came across an image of a hummingbird, the configuration of the feather colours of which seem to match with Slania's engraving. The bird I think it might be is the glittering-throated emerald (Amazilia fimbriata). This particular species of hummingbird can be found in the Amazon Basin, Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil. But is it the bird on the banknote? Can anyone out there verify this one way or other?
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| By Dario Sanches - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3154468 |
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For those who are interested, the obverse of the banknote depicts the Laureated Liberty. It, too, is a stunning engraving. I have no idea who the engraver was, as yet.
Until next time...
Stay Slania Crazy!
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