The Khyber Pass Defended by the Afghans, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859
€ 220
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-00114-4
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, lightly soiled along the left and top edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin.
About this sheet
An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, in upright format, lettered "DE BERGPAS KHEIBER DOOR DE AFFGHANEN VERDEDIGD." Towering rock walls close in on both sides of a narrow mountain gorge. High on the ledges at the left and right, small groups of Afghan riflemen crouch behind the rocks and fire downward, the puffs of smoke from their muskets showing pale against the cliffs. In the valley below, a body of horsemen gallops toward the dark mouth of the pass, and a second troop charges across the foreground at the left. On a grassy knoll in the right foreground an officer on a rearing horse waves his plumed hat to urge them on, while a few figures watch from the slope behind him and a cluster of palms grows at the far left.
The plate is lettered below the image in Dutch: "DE BERGPAS KHEIBER DOOR DE AFFGHANEN VERDEDIGD.", which translates as "The Kheiber mountain pass, defended by the Afghans". 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 plate comes from Britsch-Indië, beschreven naar de nieuwste bronnen (British India, described from the newest sources) by A. van Otterloo, published in Amsterdam by Gebroeders Kraay in 1859. The book is the first part, or Eerste Deel, of the publisher's series Vreemde Landen en Volken (Foreign Lands and Peoples), and its title page announces twenty-four steel engravings and a map. Steel plates held fine, even lines through long print runs, which suited illustrated books of this kind.
The Khyber Pass links the plains of the Indus with Kabul and was fought over repeatedly during the First Anglo-Afghan War of 1839 to 1842. The tall format and dramatic action make this a strong choice for a collection of military or mountain scenes.
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.
