Stefano della Bella's etching, “Moorish Cavalier” (2nd impression), 1648

Stefano della Bella (1610–1664)

“Moorish Cavalier” (aka “Un cavalier nègre, se dirigeant vers la gauche”; “A negro horseman, heading to the left”), 1648, the first plate from a series of 11 unnumbered round plates, “Negro, Polish and Hungarian Riders” (“Cavaliers nègres, polvnais et hongrois”; De Vesme & Massar 270–280)”, signed and dated on the plate with royal privilege (French Crown).

Etching on fine laid paper trimmed close to the platemark.

Size: (sheet) 18.4 x 18.2 cm; (image borderline dia.) 17.8 cm.

Signed and dated on plate within in the image borderline: (right of centre at lower edge) “[ligature monogram of the artist] S D Bella f/ 1648”.

Interestingly, neither the De Vesme & Massar’s catalogue raisonné (1972) nor the British Museum in their descriptions of this print mention the faintly inscribed signature and date, but the scratched inscription is visible in the reproduction of the plate in the catalogue and on the impression held by the BM (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_X-5-69). Note also that this inscription must have worn off in later impressions (cf. http://www.theprintscollector.com/Article/Antique-Master-Print-MOOR-WARRIOR-HORSE-Della-Bella-ca-1640).

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: (left) S. D. Bella. F.”; (right) Cum Priuil. Regis.

State ii (of ii) with the addition of the lettered text.

De Vesme & Massar 270 (Alexandre De Vesme & Phyllis Dearborn Massar 1971, “Stefano Della Bella: Catalogue Raisonné”, New York, Collectors Editions, [text vol.] pp. 86–87, cat. no. 270; [ill. vol.] p. 72); Jombert (Della Bella) 175–2 (Charles Antoine.Jombert 1772, “Essai d'un catalogue de l'oeuvre d'Etienne de la Belle, peintre et graveur florentin”, Paris, p. 170, cat. 175–2).

De Vesme & Massar (1971) offer the following description of this print:

(Transl.) “A negro horseman, heading to the left. He wears his bow and quiver behind his back and holds an arrow with his right hand, which remains hidden. In the background, to the left [are] Turks standing or seated; on the right, a negro holding a horse by the bridle. A little further, in the middle, several galloping riders. In the background, on the right, a town in which we can make out a mosque.” (pp. 86–87).

See also the description of this print offered by the Rijksmuseum:

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.collect.76811.

Condition: strong and well-printed early impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate—for example, the very fine “scratched” artist’s monogram, date and the guide lines for the lettered text are still visible—trimmed close to the platemark. There is a dot stain on the upper right of the borderline and the lower left corner has a tear, otherwise the sheet is in a good condition for its considerable age.

Note: this is the second copy of this print that I have listed. The previous impression has been sold.

I am selling this masterwork of etching by Della Bella for AU$442 (currently US$317.31/EUR270.15/GBP244.96 at the time of posting this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this bold image of a vain-glorious horseman in an almost regal poise with what I see as horse riding tournaments in the middle and far distance, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Maria Catharina Prestel’s etching and aquatint, “Healing of the Sick at the Bethesda Pond”, 1777

Maria Catharina Prestel (aka Maria Katharina Prestel; Maria Katharina Höll; Mary Catherine Prestel) (1747–1794)

“Healing of the Sick at the Bethesda Pond” (aka “La Guerison du Malade auprès du Lavoir de Bethesda” [The Healing of the Sick at the Bethesda Washhouse]), 1777 (published in 1780), plate 19 from the series of 48 plates “Dessins des Meilleures Peintres d'Italie, d'Allemagne, et des Pays-Bas, du Cabinet de Monsieur Paul Praun à Nurenberg”, after a drawing of the same size by Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) from the collection of Paul von Praun (1548–1616)—the collection was sold in around 1797, and then put up at auction in 1802 (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG42600).

For those unfamiliar with the portrayed Biblical scene (John 5, verse 7), Jesus is telling a man who has been ill for 38 years while waiting for a chance to have a curative bath in the Bethesda pond—the sick man had been unsuccessful because other folk always beat him to the pool—to simply get up, take his bed with him and be well rather than worry about bathing in the water. He did and he became well. A miracle but it came with ramifications for Jesus (see https://www.bibleserver.com/LUT/Johannes5).

Etching with aquatint printed from two separate printing plates in brown and black inks on laid paper backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 55.9 x 45.3 cm; (plate) 52.3 x 42 cm; (inner image borderline) 38 x 28.9 cm.

Numbered on plate below the image borderline: (right) “No. 19.”

Lettered on plate below the image borderline: “La guerison du Malade auprès du Lavoir de Bethesda Ioh.v.7./ D’après le dessin de George Vasari, de même grandeur du Cabinet de Monsieur de Praun/ à Nuremberg./ Par Marie Catherine Prestel 1777.”

Nagler 14 (G K Nagler 1835–52, “Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon”); Le Blanc 8; Vasel 4374.

Artcombook offers a description of this print: https://sites.google.com/site/artcombook/prestelpraunaquatinta19.

Condition: Strong and well-printed impression with a small margin (approx. 1.5 cm) around the platemark and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. There is a flattened horizontal centre-fold otherwise the sheet is in a very good condition with no significant stains or foxing.

I am selling this large and technically demanding print—note the perfect registration of the two printing plates employed—and executed by one of the few well-known female printmakers of the 1700s (an artist especially famous for her skill in using aquatint) for AU$322 (currently US$230.73/EUR196.95/GBP178.34 at the time of posting this print) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this rare print—note that it is not in the collection of the British Museum or in the Rijksmuseum—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Pierre Duflos’ etchings, “Crocodile” and “Hippopotame”, late 18th century

Pierre Duflos (1742-1816)

“Crocodile” and “Hippopotame”, late 18^th century, after an inscribed, but difficult to decipher name on both plates at lower left, that I read as “Borel”—possibly Antoine Borel (1743–c1810).

Although I am unable to find where these etchings were published, I propose (and I may be very wrong) that they may be illustrations to a late 18^th century edition of Pliny the Elders’ (aka Gaius Plinius Secundus) (AD 23/24– AD 79) “Naturalis Historia.” Beyond the border frames and the titles which suggests to me a natural history encyclopedia, Pliny discusses crocodiles and hippopotami in his writings. See, for example, Pliny’s account of crocodiles and hippopotami in the unillustrated volumes published by Henry G. Bohn (London 1855), vol. 1, p. 380 (https://archive.org/details/57011150RX1.nlm.nih.gov/page/380/mode/2up); Pliny’s insight into how to treat crocodile bites with the plant, Potamogeton, mixed with wine in vol. 5, pp. 172–173 (https://archive.org/details/57011150RX5.nlm.nih.gov/page/172/mode/2up); and, his discussion of uses of crocodile products (viz. their teeth filled with Frankincense as an aphrodisiac; stones from a crocodile’s stomach for fever relief; crocodile fat for treating general maladies; the ashes of the crocodile mixed with vinegar and the smell of its burning skin as an anaesthetic) in vol. 5, pp. 314–315 (https://archive.org/details/57011150RX5.nlm.nih.gov/page/314/mode/2up).

Etchings trimmed close to the image borderline and backed with a single support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 31.8 x 35.5 cm; (individual sheets) 14.1 x 8.5 cm; (inner image borderline) 13 x 8 cm.

Inscribed below the image borderline with the title at centre and at left, “Borel […?] and at right “P. Duflos sc.”

Condition: strong and well-printed impressions but with very faint publication details. The two sheets are laminated onto a single support sheet that consists of several layers of archival (millennium quality) washi paper moulded to inset the prints.

I am selling these small be visually arresting illustrations of wild animals interacting with locals that (to my eyes) reveal that the artist had never seen them in life—note, for example, the size of the hippo compared to the men on horseback and the curiously formed crocodile’s neck— for AU$286 in total for the pair (currently US$204.96/EUR174.938/GBP158.42 at the time of posting this print) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this pair of fascinating scenes of life on the Nile—note that the left scene illustrates a well-documented but shocking approach to catching a crocodile involving using a live bait (viz. a goat but in this case a plump child), hiding until the crocodile attacks the bait and shoving a length of wood into its mouth—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This pair of prints has been sold

Giuseppe Camerata’s etching, “Parable of the Lost Coin”, c1750, after Domenico Feti

Giuseppe Camerata (1718–1803)

“Parable of the Lost Coin”, c1750, after the painting (c1618) of the same composition (see https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_Fetti_-_Parable_of_the_Lost_Drachma_-_WGA07857.jpg) by Domenico Feti (aka Domenico Fetti) (1589–1623), plate 29 from the series, “Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus célèbres tableaux de la Galerie Royale de Dresde”, published in the first edition (1753).

Etching with engraving on laid paper with a small margin around the platemark.

Size: (sheet) 43.6 x 31.6 cm; (plate) 42 x 30.8cm; (image borderline) 36.2 x 28.6 cm

Lettered on plate below the image borderline with Italian and French version of the text separated by the engraved seal of the Dresden Gallery: (left) “Quadro di Domenico Feti/ di Mantova/ cavato dalla Galleria Reale di Dresda/ Alto pied: 1. onc: 11 1/2 Largo pied: 1. onc: 6. 1/2.”; (right) “J. Camerata del: et sculps./ Tableau de Dominique Feti/ de Mantoue/ de la Galerie Royale de Dresde./ Haut 1. pieds 11.1/2 pouc: Large 1. pi: 6 1/2 pouc:/ 29.”

State i (of ii?) from the first published edition printed on laid paper in 1753 before additional publication details are added at lower left.

Nagler 1.

Ref: Karl Woermann 1899, “Catalogue of The Royal Picture Gallery in Dresden”, Dresden, Wilhelm Hoffmann's Fine Art Works, p 317.

The British Museum offers the following description of this print:

“The parable of the lost coin, with a stooping woman searching the floor of a high room by the light of a lamp, after Fetti. c.1750/57 Etching and engraving” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1855-0609-1303).

For those who are unfamiliar with the “Parable of the Lost Coin”, the following verses from Luke 15:8–10 (New International Version) may be helpful:

8  "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?

9  “And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.'”

10  “In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."

To give an insight into the importance of the silver coins (Greek drachmas) in the time of Jesus, I understand that each was worth the equivalent of a day’s wage (see  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+15%3A8-10). 

Condition: well-printed impression showing no sign of wear to the printing plate with a narrow margin around the platemark. There is a faint stain at the lower edge otherwise the sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions or foxing.

I am selling this large and finely executed etching with dramatic lighting for AU$291 (currently US$208.21/EUR177.48/GBP123.69 at the time of posting this print) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this quietly beautiful etching, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that this is a second copy of this etching that I have listed. The earlier copy has been sold.

This print has been sold

Henri Guérard’s etching, “The Executioner, Black Reaper, Standing in His Cart”, 1875

Henri Guérard (aka Henri Charles Guérard) (1846–1897)

“The Executioner, Black Reaper, Standing in His Cart” (aka “Aux Femmes”), 1875, plate eight from the series of ten etchings illustrating Victor Hugo's scathing condemnation of Louis-Napoléon's regime, “Les Châtiments” (The Punishments), published in 1875 by Librairie Nouvelle (fl.1851–1880) in Paris and printed by Charles Delâtre (fl.c.1872–1876) on “papier de Hollande”—a “luxury” Dutch laid paper. I understand that excerpts from “Les Châtiments” were printed on loose thin sheets and inserted between the prints (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1900-1231-6048).

The Curator of the British Museum advises that this print “… illustrates two verses from the poem 'Aux Femmes': 'Le bourreau, noir faucheur, debout dans sa charrette, / Revient de la moisson avec son panier plein' [The executioner, black reaper, standing in his cart, / Comes back from the harvest with his basket full]” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1900-1231-6055).

Etching with retroussage toning on cream laid paper with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 27.3 x 17.3 cm; (plate 14.6 x 10.3 cm; (image borderline) 13.3 x 9.4 cm.

Inscribed on plate: (lower left) [artist’s monogram]; (lower centre) “VIII”; (lower right on edge) “IMP. CH. DELÂTRE”.

Beraldi 556–565 (Henri Beraldi 1888, “Les graveurs du 19e siècle; guide de l'amateur d'estampes modernes”, vol. 7, Paris, L Conquet, p. 273 [https://archive.org/details/lesgraveursdu19e07berauoft/page/272/mode/2up]).

Les Musées de la Ville de Paris offers the following insights about the series of etchings in which this print features:

(Transl.) “The engraver Henri Guérard, who was close to Manet, who considered him 'the only etcher' and his 'best shooter', made his debut in the entourage of Richard Lesclide, secretary of Victor Hugo, by collaborating in particular on its review 'Paris à l'eau-forte'. It was at Lesclide's request that Guérard produced at least two series of etchings for the in-8 publication of Victor Hugo's 'Châtiments' in the New Bookstore Edition, but also for 'napoléon le patit' and perhaps be for 'Story of a crime'. The engravings would have been censored. In fact, they are not announced by the Bibliography of France, nor even indicated in the Inventory of the French collection of the National Library. Only the series for 'Les Châtiments' seems to have been published in a portfolio under the title: 'Series of ten etchings by Henry Guérard on Dutch paper for the illustration of the Châtiments by Victor Hugo, Paris, Librairie Nouvelle', at price of 6 francs. Only some plates have a final letter with a number. The numbering is also discontinuous. The collection preserved by the museum is particularly valuable, given the reported rarity of these engravings. In fact, it retains compositions and variations not selected, as well as practice tests.” (https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/node/695172#infos-principales)

Condition: near faultless impression with full margins in near pristine condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling).

I am selling this exceptionally rare etching for AU$223 (currently US$159.93/EUR136.19/GBP123.69 at the time of posting this print) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this grimly superb etching of an executioner holding an axe on his horse-drawn cart, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold