Sports & Leisure · 19th century
€ 170
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
Good condition overall with light age toning to the sheet, minor foxing mainly near margins, and a small corner crease lower left. Plate mark is strong and the partial original hand-coloring remains vivid.
Badger and Otter Hunt – Antique German Engraving, circa 1840
This highly detailed antique engraving titled "Dachs- und Fischotterjagd" (Badger and Otter Hunt) depicts an elaborate hunting scene in three registers. At the top, badgers and otters are illustrated within their natural habitats, rendered with partial hand-coloring to emphasise their pelage against a rocky forested backdrop. The middle register features a group of hunters gathered around a captured badger, dressed in varied 18th to early 19th century hunting attire, with dogs attentively watching the event. The bottom register shows an active otter hunt, with men wading into a river accompanied by their hounds while onlookers observe from the shore and horseback.
Published by Carl Mayer’s Kunst Anstalt in Nuremberg, circa 1840, this print exemplifies the German Romantic fascination with rural traditions, hunting culture, and natural history. The engraving is finely executed with excellent attention to the landscape setting, hunter costumes, and realistic depiction of the animals, serving both as a documentary record and as decorative art.
Such prints were part of larger works depicting European hunting scenes, ethnographic subjects, and wildlife studies, widely collected by the educated bourgeoisie in the mid-19th century. Today, this engraving would suit collectors of hunting art, animal studies, and German historical prints, or as an elegant addition to traditional interiors, lodges, or hunting cabins.
Condition report:
Good condition overall with light age toning to the sheet, minor foxing mainly near margins, and a small corner crease lower left. Plate mark is strong and the partial original hand-coloring remains vivid.
Framing tip:
This print would look best framed in a dark walnut or oak frame to complement its rich engraved tones, with a wide natural linen or cream mount to enhance its visual depth. Alternatively, a black frame with a gold inner edge would emphasise its graphic and historic character for display in a study, library, or gallery wall.
