Figures with Animals and a Chariot on Wall D at Persepolis, 1780
€ 340
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1780
Mapmaker / artist
Carsten Niebuhr
Publisher
S. J. Baalde, Amsterdam, and Barthelemy Wild, Utrecht
Technique
Copper engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
27.5 × 40 cm (10.8 × 15.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14407-2-22
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
The bottom edge is uneven, with small nicks. Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Folding plate, original center fold as issued.
About this sheet
This is an original antique copper engraving, published in 1780, from the second volume of Carsten Niebuhr's travels. The caption reads in Dutch Afbeelding der Figuuren aan den Wand d. Pl. XVIII. and in French Figures Sur le Mur d. Pl. XVIII., meaning "Figures on the wall d" of the plan on plate XVIII.
Four registers of carved figures are copied, divided by bands of rosettes, with tall cypress trees set between the groups. At the upper left a stairway is drawn with a sloping parapet above it, and armed figures with spears stand on its steps. In the top register a man walks beside a large bull, and in the second a horse draws a two wheeled chariot.
In the third register two men lead a pair of rams and another leads a horse, while a group carries folded cloths and rings. In the lowest register a man leads a horse, and a line of figures carries bowls and round vessels. Most of the bearers wear tall pointed or rounded caps, and small numbers are engraved beside the groups. The ends of the registers are lettered a and b. No artist or engraver signature is engraved on this sheet. The plate number Tab: XXII. is engraved at the upper right.
The plate comes from the second volume, Tome Second, of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, Traduit de l'Allemand, published by S. J. Baalde at Amsterdam and Barthelemy Wild at Utrecht, with the date MDCCLXXX, 1780, on its title page. Carsten Niebuhr (1733 to 1815) was a German born surveyor in Danish service and the only member of the Danish expedition to Arabia (1761 to 1767), sent by King Frederick V of Denmark, to return alive. The account was first published in German at Copenhagen; this is the French translation printed in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
The bottom edge is uneven, with small nicks. Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Folding plate, original center fold as issued.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
