A Fisherman of Jeddah, Antique Niebuhr Figure Engraving, 1776
€ 320
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1776
Mapmaker / artist
Carsten Niebuhr; drawn by Baurenfeind, engraved by C. F. Fritsch
Publisher
S. J. Baalde, Amsterdam, and J. van Schoonhoven and Comp., Utrecht
Technique
Copper engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14407-1-56
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
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom and left edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners are present.
About this sheet
This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, plate LVI of the first volume of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie. The caption below the image reads Afbeelding van een' Visscher te Dsjidda. in Dutch and Figure d'un Pêcheur de Dsjidda. in French, meaning figure of a fisherman of Jeddah.
The plate is a full length study of a single man walking barefoot toward the viewer along a path. He is bearded and wears a wound turban and a long loose shirt belted at the waist with a cord, the sleeves wide and the hem falling to his knees. A short cylindrical object is tucked into the belt. Over his shoulder he carries a long pole, steadied with one hand, with a pair of large fish hanging from a loop at each end. In his other hand he holds a slender rod with a knob at one end, angled down toward the left. Behind him is a landscape of water and low hills, with a few small buildings at the left, a bush and rocks at the right, and tufts of grass on the path.
The lower margin is lettered Baurenfeind; del. at the left and C. F. Fritsch sc: at the right, naming the draftsman and the engraver. The plate number Tab: LVI. is engraved at the upper right.
The plate belongs to the first volume of Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, marked TOME PREMIER and Traduit de l'Allemand on its title page, which carries the imprint of S. J. Baalde at Amsterdam and J. van Schoonhoven and Comp. at Utrecht and the date MDCCLXXVI. The expedition's artist, Georg Wilhelm Baurenfeind, died at sea in 1763. 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.
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom and left edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners are present.
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.
