Pieter Mortier, Naaman Healed in the Jordan and Famine in Samaria, Pieter 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: 2 … Read more This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 2 Kings 5:1 to 14, Naaman healed of his leprosy, and 2 Kings 6:24, the great famine during the siege of Samaria. The upper scene illustrates 2 Kings chapter 5, the healing of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, who at Elisha's word washed seven times in the river Jordan and was cleansed of his leprosy. Naaman's attendants wait on the bank with his armour while he bathes in the river. The lower scene shows 2 Kings chapter 6, the great famine during the siege of Samaria, when an ass's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver. Townspeople crowd around a market stall where an animal's head lies on the table and carcasses hang overhead, a grim urban scene. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 107 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. This sheet is signed in the lower margin by Ottmar Elliger as designer, with the engraving signed by Andreas Reinhard. 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, some soiling and a small nick at the upper right edge, and slightly frayed edges; the image itself is clean. 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