Pieter Mortier, Feast of Tabernacles and the Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon, 1700, Engraving

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This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 1 … Read more This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 1 Kings 8:65, the Feast of Tabernacles, and 1 Kings 10:1, the Queen of Sheba comes to see Solomon. The upper scene illustrates 1 Kings chapter 8, verse 65, the Feast of Tabernacles held by Solomon with all Israel after the dedication of the Temple. People gather branches and build leafy booths in a spacious garden setting lined with terraced buildings, a lively scene of festival preparation. The lower scene shows 1 Kings chapter 10, verse 1, the visit of the Queen of Sheba, who came to test Solomon with hard questions and brought gold, spices and precious stones. Solomon and the queen sit enthroned together beneath a draped canopy while servants unpack vessels of treasure on the steps. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 98 in the lower margin. Pieter Mortier, the Amsterdam publisher and bookseller, issued his illustrated Bible circa 1700 as a showpiece of Dutch Baroque printmaking. Its contributing artists included Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart, and the plates present the biblical narrative as a sequence of theatrical scenes, crowded with figures and set among classical architecture and wide landscapes. The lower margin carries the signature of Ottmar Elliger as designer, together with an engraver's signature that is too faint to read with confidence. The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins, and the reverse is blank. The sheet would suit a library, a study or a quiet corner of a living room, where its fine line work rewards close viewing. Hung in a group with other Mortier plates, it becomes part of a continuous illustrated narrative of the Books of Kings. The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, small chips at the left edge and a few spots in the margins; the image itself is clean and strong. 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. See less