Cairo City Gate and Great Mosque, Egypt, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859
€ 340
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1859
Mapmaker / artist
Not named on the sheet
Publisher
Furne et Cie, Paris
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-11494-14
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 handling wear to the bottom right corner; edges straight and without nicks. Even age toning, soiled along the right and top edges. No foxing found in the margin apart from one larger brown spot.
About this sheet
An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, with two views of Cairo, captioned "LE CAIRE. PORTE" and "LE CAIRE. MOSQUÉE". The upper vignette shows a massive city gate flanked by two great round towers with crenellated tops, the arched passage between them leading into the city. Small shops with awnings and a little roofed booth lean against the walls, and a few figures stand in the gateway and sit by the stalls. The lower vignette shows a great mosque rising above the flat roofs of the city, its tall wall divided by vertical recesses and a high arched portal, with a smooth dome topped by a crescent and minarets behind it. Further minarets rise on the left and right, and trees fill the foreground.
The captions translate as Cairo, Gate and Cairo, Mosque. The publisher's line at the foot reads "Publié par Furne, à Paris" (Published by Furne, in Paris), and in small letters at the lower right corner of the lower image the printer's line reads "Imp. Delamain, 8, r. Git-le-Cœur, Paris." No artist or engraver is named.
The source is Voyage en Asie et en Afrique by MM. Eyriès and Alfred Jacobs, a volume of the Histoire générale des voyages by Dumont d'Urville, d'Orbigny, Eyriès and A. Jacobs. It was published in Paris by Furne et Cie, éditeurs, 45 rue Saint-André-des-Arts, and its title page is dated M DCCC LIX (1859). Like the other plates in the book, this one is a steel engraving with a French caption.
The pairing of fortified gate and mosque gives a compact picture of historic Cairo.
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.
