Stefano della Bella, “Dancing Satyrs”, c. 1645

Stefano della Bella (1610–1664)

“Dancing Satyrs”, circa 1645 (1643–1648)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with pale plate tone on fine wove (China) paper with small margins. This is the final plate from the series of six etchings, “Animali” (also known as “Six Sujets d’Animaux”). Preliminary studies for this etching and the other prints in the series are held in the collections of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence (inv. no. 7973 F), the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (inv. no. 43722), and Windsor Castle, Windsor (inv. nos: 4572, 4662a, 4662b, 4659, and 4611b) (see Rijksmuseum explanation: inv. no. RP-P-OB-35.000).

The plate is numbered “162” below the image at centre. While I am unable to identify the specific folio series associated with this plate number, and De Vesme/Massar [1971] do not describe it, the addition or amendment of plate numbers is not uncommon in later editions, of which this print appears to be a part.

This impression is crisp and well-printed, with production details nearly completely erased. There are glue remnants from mounting along the upper edge (verso). Otherwise, the sheet is in excellent condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or foxing.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 15.7 x 14.4 cm
• Platemark: 14.3 x 13.5 cm
• Image borderline (diameter): 13.5 cm

Plate Lettering (below the image borderline):

• Faintest trace at left: [“SDBella In. et Fe.”]
• Centre: “162”

References:

• De Vesme/Massar 719 (Alexandre de Vesme & Phyllis D. Massar, “Stefano della Bella. Catalogue Raisonné”, 1971, New York, Collectors Editions, p. 113, cat. no. 719; plate p. 136, cat. no. 719)
• Jombert (Della Bella) 128-6 (Charles Antoine Jombert, “Essai d'un catalog de l'oeuvre d'Etienne de la Belle”, 1772, Paris, p. 132, cat. nos. 128-6)
• Rijksmuseum: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200155739
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_X-5-149

Price & Shipping:

AU$278 (approximately US$194.91 / €170.39 / £147.74), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this lively, sparkling etching full of movement and glistening light, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Workshop of Georg Husner, “De Sex Alis Cherubin”, 1495

Workshop of Georg Husner (active 1479–1505)

“De Sex Alis Cherubin” (The Six-Winged Cherubin), 1495

Technical Details & Condition:

Woodcut (recto) with Latin letterpress text (verso) on fine incunabula-era laid paper leaf with full margins as issued. The verso has brown ink annotations by an early contemporary hand.

The leaf was printed by Georg Husner in Strassburg, dated December 18, 1495. It was published during the incunabula period as a key full-page illustration to the second part of the Opuscula (small theological works) attributed to Saint Bonaventure (circa 1221–1274).

The verso features Latin late-medieval Gothic incunabula letterpress text titled, “De sex alis cherubin” (On the six wings of the Cherub). The woodcut on recto serves as a complex spiritual mnemonic map: the six wings and thirty distinct feathers represent the virtues, mental purities, and steps of confession necessary for the soul to fly to God. While historically credited to Bonaventure, the text is now widely assigned to the scholastic philosopher, theologian, and poet Alanus de Insulis (also known as Alain de Lille) (circa 1128–1202/03).

This is a superbly strong, crisp impression. Aside from minor surface toning and faint handling marks, the sheet is in a remarkable state of preservation.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 29.5 x 20 cm
• Woodcut Image: 22.5 x 14.5 cm

References:

• Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke: GW 4648 (https://portail.biblissima.fr/ark:/43093/edata7e083622878204b45efaafbdfde0483c1d0d36b6)
• British Museum Catalogue: BMC I:153 (Printer of the 1483 Jordanus de Quedlinburg / Georg Husner)

Price & Shipping:

AU$483 (approximately US$339.81 / €295.09 / £255.39), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To purchase this museum-quality 15th-century woodcut, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.

This print has been sold 

Albert Maignan, “Merlin the Enchanter and the Fairy of the Lake”, 1904

Albert Maignan (also known as Albert Pierre René Maignan) (1845–1908)

“Merlin the Enchanter and the Fairy of the Lake” (“Merlin l’enchanteur et la fée du Lac” or “Merlin l'enchanteur et la fée Viviane”), 1904

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on heavy cream laid paper (A. Porcabeuf watermark) with wide margins as issued. Published in Paris by the Société des Amis de l'Eau-forte (Society of Friends of Etching, founded in Paris in 1897) and bearing the publisher’s dry stamp (blind stamp) of the ligature letters “AEF” in the lower left margin. This print was not part of a narrative series on Arthurian legends. Instead, it was issued exclusively as a loose impression for the society's annual subscription portfolio, “Exercice 1904.”

Although published by the Société des Amis de l'Eau-forte (as authenticated by the dry stamp), this impression represents an early state of the plate—characterised by pure etching with crisp linework and delicate linear shading. It demarcates a state before letters and additional tonal work, predating the version seen in some public collections (such as inventory no. E 2019-0347-009 at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Genève), which features substantial additional cross-hatching, heavy tonal linework, and added lettered text in the lower right reading: “IMPRIMÉ POUR LA VILLE DE GENÈVE.”

The society strictly limited its membership roster to approximately 100 to 200 elite collectors during this period. Consequently, the contemporary edition size for this 1904 printing is exceptionally small (approx. 100 copies), making extant impressions highly scarce.

A strong, rich, and well-printed impression with excellent contrast. The sheet features exceptionally wide margins as originally issued. Aside from a few small closed tears confined to the outer left edge of the sheet and minor surface marks on the verso, the paper remains in excellent condition. It is entirely free of holes, folds, foxing, or significant staining.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 61.6 x 44 cm
• Platemark: 52.7 x 39.1 cm
• Image borderline: 41.8 x 30 cm

References:

• Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Genève: inv. no. E 2019-0347-008 (matching this impression)
• Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Genève: Inv. no. E 2019-0347-009 (later impression)

Price & Shipping:

AU$288 (approximately US$203.48 / €175.24 / £151.55), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare, early-state impression—capturing a dream-like, poetic interaction between a mesmerised Merlin and the captivating Viviane—please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a seamless transaction.