Antique Print of Captives and the Great Temple of Vitsliputsli "Mexico"

Name: Antique Print of Captives and the Great Temple of Vitsliputsli "Mexico"
Brand: Theodor de Bry
SKU: BGI-01187
Price: 150 USD
Availability: InStock

$150

€135 · dollar price at today's exchange rate

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Shipping to the United States: $51 standard, $73 express, insured and tracked.

Maker: Theodor de Bry
Kind: Views & Engravings
Size: 35.5 × 24.1 cm (14 × 9.5 in)
Condition: Good. Please study image carefully.
Places: Mexico
Reference: BGI-01187

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.

Guaranteed original. This is an original of the period stated, not a later reproduction or print-on-demand copy. If it is ever shown to be otherwise, we refund you in full.

Shipping to the United States. Sent from our gallery in Langweer, the Netherlands, flat between boards or rolled in a tube, and fully insured. Delivery and import charges.

About this piece

Three scenes of the Aztec world on one sheet, an engraving by Bernard Picart from the Dutch edition (1727-1738) of "Naaukeurige beschryving der godtsdienst-plichten, kerk-zeden en gewoontens van alle volkeren der waereldt". The captions are in French, and the sheet is credited "B. Picart" at the lower left.

At upper left, "Captif ecorche apres avoir ete vaincu" shows a defeated captive lying dead on the ground beside a round stone structure. At upper right, "Captif combattant contre un Pretre Mexicain" has a bound prisoner fighting a priest in a feathered headdress, with a shield and a sword. The large lower view is "Le Grand Temple de Vitsliputsli dans la Ville de Mexique": the stepped temple rises in the center of a walled precinct, with the city and its lake behind, and European-style buildings and gardens in the foreground.

The plates belong to Picart's survey of the religious ceremonies and customs of all nations, first issued in French between 1721 and 1725, the most elaborate history of world religion up to that time. They were adapted from earlier sources, including de Bry, and the architecture is drawn in an European style.

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