The Himalaya Range with a Rainbow and Caravan, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859

About this sheet

An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, titled "HET HIMALAJA GEBERGTE." A great snow-covered peak rises in the center of the view, framed by a wide rainbow that arches across a stormy sky, while birds wheel overhead. Below it a broad plain with a winding river, scattered white buildings and wooded tracts stretches into the distance. In the left foreground stand the ruins of a tall stone tower and walls overgrown with creepers, and a path strewn with fallen blocks leads past them. Along it a small caravan has gathered: riders on horseback and on camels, a figure in a white robe, men on foot and loaded animals, while at the right a man stands beside a camel carrying a pack saddle.

The plate is lettered below the image in Dutch: "HET HIMALAJA GEBERGTE.", which translates as "The Himalaya Mountains". 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.

The Himalaya, the highest mountain range on earth, forms the northern frontier of the Indian subcontinent. The rainbow and the bright snow peak against the dark sky give this small plate a dramatic, luminous effect that reads well from across a room.

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.