A Fisherman of Jeddah, Antique Niebuhr Figure Engraving, 1776

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, plate LVI of the first volume of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie. The caption below the image reads Afbeelding van een' Visscher te Dsjidda. in Dutch and Figure d'un Pêcheur de Dsjidda. in French, meaning figure of a fisherman of Jeddah.

The plate is a full length study of a single man walking barefoot toward the viewer along a path. He is bearded and wears a wound turban and a long loose shirt belted at the waist with a cord, the sleeves wide and the hem falling to his knees. A short cylindrical object is tucked into the belt. Over his shoulder he carries a long pole, steadied with one hand, with a pair of large fish hanging from a loop at each end. In his other hand he holds a slender rod with a knob at one end, angled down toward the left. Behind him is a landscape of water and low hills, with a few small buildings at the left, a bush and rocks at the right, and tufts of grass on the path.

The lower margin is lettered Baurenfeind; del. at the left and C. F. Fritsch sc: at the right, naming the draftsman and the engraver. The plate number Tab: LVI. is engraved at the upper right.

The plate belongs to the first volume of Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, marked TOME PREMIER and Traduit de l'Allemand on its title page, which carries the imprint of S. J. Baalde at Amsterdam and J. van Schoonhoven and Comp. at Utrecht and the date MDCCLXXVI. The expedition's artist, Georg Wilhelm Baurenfeind, died at sea in 1763. Carsten Niebuhr (1733 to 1815) was a German born surveyor in Danish service and the only member of the Danish expedition to Arabia (1761 to 1767), sent by King Frederick V of Denmark, to return alive.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom and left edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners are present.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.