Egyptian Water Raising Machines on the Nile, Antique Print, 1776
€ 245
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1776
Mapmaker / artist
Carsten Niebuhr; engraving directed by C. J. de Huyser
Publisher
S. J. Baalde, Amsterdam, and J. van Schoonhoven and Comp., Utrecht
Technique
Copper engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
27 × 40 cm (10.6 × 15.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14407-1-15
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
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the right edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Folding plate, original folds as issued. Slight wear at the bottom right corner.
About this sheet
This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, a plate of water raising machines. The caption reads in Dutch Verscheidene Water-werktuigen in Egipte. and in French Diverses Machines Hydrauliques en Egypte., meaning various water machines in Egypt.
The machines are numbered I to V. Machine I fills the left half in elevation and plan: a toothed wheel, lettered C, turned by a beam on an upright shaft, drives a horizontal axle and a vertical wheel, lettered A, that carries a chain of pots down into a shaft cut in the ground. A separate drawing of wheel A shows the pots hanging on their ropes, and a toothed wheel B is drawn on its own below. At the upper right, II shows two views of a wheel over a pit, one with a figure at work. Below it, III is a wheel lettered D with a lever and a raised beam above it, drawn again on its own with its ring of paddles. At the lower right, IV is a pole on a frame with a round weight at one end and a bucket hanging below, and V is a length of rope with a bag. A scale lettered Voet. runs from 1 to 12.
The credit C. J. de Huyser, direx. is lettered under the lower left corner, and the plate number Tab: XV. is engraved at the upper right.
The plate comes from the first volume of Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, the French translation of Carsten Niebuhr's account, its title page reading TOME PREMIER. Traduit de l'Allemand. A AMSTERDAM, chez S. J. BAALDE. A UTRECHT, chez J. VAN SCHOONHOVEN & COMP. MDCCLXXVI. Carsten Niebuhr (1733 to 1815) was a German born surveyor in Danish service and the only member of the Danish expedition to Arabia (1761 to 1767), sent by King Frederick V of Denmark, to return alive. The account was first published in German at Copenhagen; this is the French translation printed in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the right edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Folding plate, original folds as issued. Slight wear at the bottom right corner.
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.
