Landscape of Kutch, Horsemen Fording a River, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859

€ 240

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1859
Mapmaker / artist: Published by Gebroeders Kraay
Publisher: Gebroeders Kraay, Amsterdam
Technique: Steel Engraving
Coloring: Uncolored
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-00114-18

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 handling wear to the bottom left corner; edges straight and without nicks. Even age toning. No foxing noted in the margins.

About this sheet

An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, lettered "LANDSCHAP VAN KUTCH. (AFGHANISTAN.)" A broad river winds through a valley enclosed by high, rounded mountains, with a hazy sun breaking through the clouds above the range at the right. Travelers are crossing the water: two horsemen ride down the far bank at the left, one already wading in, while in midstream a man struggles beside a white horse that has sunk to its belly. On the right bank a man in a fur cap stands beside a dark horse that lowers its head to the water. A gnarled tree and dense bushes fill the left foreground, and the valley floor opens out to a plain in the distance at the right.

The plate is lettered below the image in Dutch: "LANDSCHAP VAN KUTCH. (AFGHANISTAN.)", which translates as "Landscape of Kutch (Afghanistan)". Beneath the caption, in a small script, is the publisher's imprint "Uitg. Gebrs Kraaÿ, Amsterdam.", short for uitgegeven (published) by the Kraay brothers of Amsterdam. No artist or engraver is named on the plate.

The source is Britsch-Indië, beschreven naar de nieuwste bronnen by A. van Otterloo (Amsterdam, Gebroeders Kraay, 1859), the Eerste Deel of the series Vreemde Landen en Volken, a set of books on foreign countries and their peoples. Its title page promises Met Vier-en-Twintig Staalgravuren en eene Kaart, that is, with twenty-four steel engravings and a map, and this plate is one of those engravings.

Afghanistan bordered British India to the northwest, and the book includes Afghan scenes among its Indian views. Its moody sky and wide valley make an atmospheric landscape for a hallway or study.

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.