Maritime · 18th century
€ 300
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
General age-related toning. Minor wear, blank verso. Please study image carefully.
Antique print titled 'Classis Ophirea aurisera (..)'. Original antique print with a scene from 1 Kings 9, old testament; King Solomon’s gold fleet from Ophir. Surrounded by stunning ornamental borders. This print originates from ‘Physica Sacra’ by Johann Jakob Scheuchzer. Scheuchzer believed that the Old Testament was a factual account of the history, of the world. He initiated a major project to explain Biblical events in terms of physics, medicine, and natural history. His aim was to prove the existence of God through science, but the Swiss authorities initially refused to grant him a permit to publish it. Eventually a lushly illustrated edition of this extraordinary work as printed between 1731 and 1735 in the great German publishing center Augsburg. Entitled ‘Jobi physica sacra oder Hiobs Natur-Wissenschaft verglichen mit der heutigen’, the work became known as the Physica Sacra or the Kupfer-Bibel. It became famous for its elaborate illustrations, in which each biblical story was framed with an architectural border containing details relevant to the chapter depicted.
