Original Rare Antique Print of a Ruin in Peru, 1857
€ 220
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1857
Sheet size
21 × 26 cm (8.3 × 10.2 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-10125
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
General age-related toning. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
A ruined stone gateway overgrown by tropical forest, an original steel engraving from Die Kunstwerke vom Alterthum bis auf die Gegenwart by C.A. Menzel, published in 1857. The print is untitled, and a plate number appears in the upper right corner.
The view looks toward a massive stone building with a tall corbelled archway at its center, flanked by lower wings with doorways. The façade is decorated with bands of geometric ornament: lattice panels, stepped frets and projecting moldings. Tall trees and a palm hung with fruit frame the scene on both sides, and roots and shrubs climb over the roofline. In the foreground, two figures, one with a basket, sit at the foot of a fallen stone slab.
The listing places the ruin in Peru, but the architecture shown, with its corbelled vault and carved geometric façade, is that of the Maya region of Mexico and Central America. The engraver has made the stonework dominate the picture, with the people small by comparison to emphasize the age and scale of the building.
