About this sheet
This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in olive green, gold brown and gray, lettered "1. FONTS BAPTISMAUX (en bronze) de la Cathédrale de Wurzbourg. XIVe Siécle. 2. LAVABO en plomb (XVe Siécle) au Musée des Antiques de Rouen." Two vessels share the page. At the top, numbered 2, is a long rectangular lead trough in cool gray, its front divided by Gothic gables into bays that alternate small angels holding shields with lion masks. Below it, numbered 1 and drawn larger, stands the cylindrical bronze font in deep olive green, ringed by pinnacled buttresses and pointed arches that frame figure scenes in relief, with a figure reclining on a bed in the central niche. The font rests on a molded base in warm brown.
The running head reads "LE MOYEN AGE ET LA RENAISSANCE" at the left and "AMEUBLEMENT RELIGIEUX." (church furnishings) at the right. Below the image are the credits "Ferdinand Séré del.", "Chromolith. Lemercier à Paris" and "H. Moulin, lith.", and at the foot "F. Séré direxit". In English the caption reads: 1. Baptismal font (in bronze) of Würzburg Cathedral, fourteenth century. 2. Lavabo in lead (fifteenth century) in the Musée des Antiques at Rouen. Séré drew the plate, Moulin put it on stone and Lemercier printed it in color.
Le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance was edited by Paul Lacroix, who also wrote as the Bibliophile Jacob, with Ferdinand Séré directing the illustrations, and it was published in Paris in five volumes between 1848 and 1851. The work surveys the manners, customs, trade, industry, sciences and arts of Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and its chapters were illustrated with plates after objects in museums, churches and private collections of the day. This plate belongs to the fourth volume, issued in 1851.
With its lettering intact, the plate suits a plain mat and a simple frame, and it hangs well beside other plates from the same chapter.
Condition: Light age toning, a little darker toward the edges; occasional small spots in the margins; light handling wear to the corners.
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.
