Death of Saul and the Men of Jabesh Recover His Body, Pieter Mortier, circa 1700

This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 1 Samuel 31:1 to 6, the death of Saul and his sons, and 1 Samuel 31:12, the bodies of Saul and his sons carried away by the men of Jabesh. The upper scene illustrates 1 Samuel chapter 31, the defeat of Israel by the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, where Saul's sons are slain and Saul falls upon his own sword. The king lies fallen in the foreground while Philistine archers and soldiers advance across the battlefield.

The lower scene shows 1 Samuel chapter 31, verse 12, where the valiant men of Jabesh Gilead travel all night to take the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. The moonlit night scene shows the men lowering and carrying the bodies beneath the city walls. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 86 in the lower margin.

Pieter Mortier's Bible, published in Amsterdam circa 1700 as the Historie des Ouden en Nieuwen Testaments, is one of the most ambitious illustrated Bibles of the Dutch Baroque. Its many scenes were engraved on copper after designs by leading artists of the day, among them Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart, and set two to a sheet within engraved frames that give each plate its distinctive architectural look. This sheet is signed in the lower margin by Ottmar Elliger as designer, and no engraver's signature is visible. The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins, and the reverse is blank.

A sheet like this suits a study, a library or a reading room, and it pairs naturally with other plates from the Mortier Bible for anyone building a sequence on the story of Saul and David. The paired scenes and engraved frames look particularly handsome in a simple dark wood frame with a generous mount.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a small brown stain in the lower margin and minor chipping to the right edge; the image itself is clean.

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