The Egyptian Egg Hatching Oven, Antique Niebuhr Engraving, 1776
€ 235
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1776
Mapmaker / artist
Carsten Niebuhr
Publisher
S. J. Baalde, Amsterdam, and J. van Schoonhoven and Comp., Utrecht
Technique
Copper engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
27 × 22 cm (10.6 × 8.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14407-1-18
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. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and top edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left corner.
About this sheet
This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, the plans and sections of an oven for hatching eggs. The caption reads in Dutch Afbeelding van een' Oven, waar in Eyeren Uitgebroeid worden. and in French Figure d'un Four, où l'on fait éclorre des Oeufs., meaning picture of an oven in which eggs are hatched.
At the top, a section lettered G and H cuts through two vaulted chambers, with openings lettered i and h in the roof. Below it, a long elevation lettered E and F shows a row of chambers with small doors and roof openings marked h, the parts lettered d, e, f and g. The two large plans below show the building from above. The upper plan, lettered C and D, has twelve chambers marked f, six on each side of a central passage lettered d. The lower plan, lettered A and B, has twelve chambers marked e in two rows on either side of a passage, and at its lower left a curving corridor leads to two small rooms lettered b and c and a round chamber lettered a. The letters I, K and L mark the levels between the drawings, and a scale lettered Voet. runs from 2 to 30.
No artist's or engraver's credit is lettered on this sheet. The plate number Tab: XVIII. 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. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and top edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left 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.
