Original Rare Antique Print of Two Ruins in Mexico, 1857
€ 220
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1857
Sheet size
26 × 21 cm (10.2 × 8.3 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-10124
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
Two ruins on one sheet, an original steel engraving from Die Kunstwerke vom Alterthum bis auf die Gegenwart by C.A. Menzel, published in 1857, with the two views numbered 1 and 2 and a plate number in the upper left corner. The sheet is cataloged as ruins in Mexico.
The upper view shows a bare conical hill under a wide sky, with a low stone building built into its foot. The building has a small doorway at its center, and a rock and a few scattered stones lie before it, framed by a dark tree at the left and dense foliage at the right. The lower view shows a stepped pyramid, its steep central stair rising to a small temple with a dark doorway and a decorated upper story, set on a bare plain with agave, tall cacti and palms around it.
Menzel's book, an illustrated survey of the works of architecture, painting and sculpture from antiquity to the present, offered German readers a view of the ancient buildings of the Americas alongside those of Europe and Asia, and these two views belong to the pre-Hispanic monuments of Mexico.
