Original Antique Hand-Colored Engraving of Mayta Capac's Clemency, Peru, c.1821
€ 375
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1821
Sheet size
38 × 26.5 cm (15.0 × 10.4 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14303-28
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
Good condition considering its age. Original hand coloring. General age-related toning, occasional light foxing and minor handling wear. A few small wormholes in the left margin. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
The clemency of Mayta Capac, an original hand-colored engraving from Giulio Ferrario's Il Costume Antico e Moderno, published in Milan around 1821. The sheet carries a plate number at the upper right and an engraver's signature at the lower right, and has wide margins.
Mayta Capac, traditionally counted as the fourth Sapa Inca, sits on a raised seat under a purple canopy topped by a gilt fleur-de-lis ornament, in a red cloak and short tunic, with a band on his head. He extends a hand toward a crowd of the conquered chiefs of Ccayaviri, who kneel and stretch up their hands, with women and children among them. Spears stand upright behind the canopy, and a palisade of stakes runs across the background. Behind it a fortified citadel rises on a rock under a pale sky.
According to the account in Ferrario, the defeated chiefs came to the Inca expecting punishment and were pardoned instead. The scene is a European imagining of Inca history, with classical features in the dress, made for a work that surveyed the costumes of the ancient and modern world.
