Elephanta Cave Sculptures at Stations 13 and 14, Antique Print, 1780

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1780, two carved relief panels from the cave temple on Elephanta, set side by side on a landscape plate. The caption reads Afbeelding der Figuuren by 13. en 14. op den Plattengrond, Pl. III. in Dutch and Réprésentation des Figures près de 13 & 14 sur le Plan, Pl. III. in French, meaning "Representation of the figures at 13 and 14 on the ground plan, plate III".

The wider left panel, lettered B, is led by a tall standing figure in a high ornamented headdress, holding a spear upright in one hand, with the other on his hip. To the left stand a smaller figure with a spear and a child holding a round object. To the right two figures rise from a mass of broken rock, the nearer one with its head broken away, the other a woman with a raised hand. The right panel, lettered A, shows a single tall figure in a high headdress set against a large oval halo, with a cord across his chest. A squatting figure with curled hair sits at the left, and a small child stands at the right. The rock behind both panels is drawn with cracks and patches of shading. The numbers in the caption refer to the numbered positions on the ground plan of the cave temple at Elephanta, engraved as plate III (Tab. III) of the same volume.

The plate is signed "C. Philips, Jz f" below the lower right corner of the border. The plate number "Tab. XI." is engraved upright along the left side, at the upper left of the border, because the plate is turned on the page.

This sheet belongs to the second volume of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, issued at Amsterdam by S. J. Baalde and at Utrecht by Barthelemy Wild, with MDCCLXXX on its title page. 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. The account was first published in German at Copenhagen; this is the French translation printed in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left and bottom right corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left.

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