Fridericus IV Imperator, Habsburg Emperor, Engraving by Hess, circa 1800
€ 180
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1800
Mapmaker / artist
Hess (engraver)
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
28 × 23 cm (11.0 × 9.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-80
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 for its age. Toning and scattered light spotting to the sheet, soft creases at the upper left and lower left corners and minor edge wear, all in the margins. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original engraved portrait in outline, lettered at the top "Fridericus IV. Imperator" with a small cross between the words, and signed within the plate at lower left "Hess fec."
The emperor is shown in profile to the left, an elderly man with a long nose, a lined cheek and long hair falling to his shoulders. He wears a high jeweled crown, its arched cap filled with scrolling foliage and pearls and its band set with square cut stones, and a broad jeweled collar across his shoulders. The whole is drawn in clean, tapering lines with only light hatching on the brow and in the hair, in the manner of a medal or a carved relief, and the plate mark is clearly visible around the image.
The name and the aged features match Frederick III of the House of Habsburg (1415 to 1493), who reigned as King of the Romans from 1440 and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome in 1452, the last emperor to be crowned there by the pope. Because Frederick the Fair had also been elected king, Frederick III was counted as Frederick IV in the German royal numbering, which is how he appears on this plate. His long reign laid the foundations of later Habsburg greatness, and he was the father of the Emperor Maximilian I.
Series of portraits of the emperors, drawn after medals, coins and earlier images, were popular in the German lands in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and this plate belongs to that tradition. It will appeal to collectors of Habsburg and imperial history and of early portrait prints, and its crisp linear style looks well in a plain frame.
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.
