Elisha and the Bears and the Widow's Oil, Pieter Mortier, circa 1700

This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 2 Kings 2:23, the children mocking Elisha devoured by bears, and 2 Kings 4:1, Elisha multiplies the widow's oil. The upper scene illustrates 2 Kings chapter 2, verse 23, one of the most dramatic episodes in the story of Elisha, when the children who mocked the prophet on the road to Bethel were attacked by two she bears from the wood. Elisha strides forward with arm raised while the bears fall on the children beneath the trees.

The lower scene shows 2 Kings chapter 4, the miracle of the widow's oil, when Elisha told a poor widow to pour her little oil into borrowed vessels, and it did not stop until every jar was full. The widow pours from her jar into a row of large pots while her sons carry more vessels into the room. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 106 in the lower margin.

The engraving comes from the Bible published by Pieter Mortier in Amsterdam circa 1700, a work in which Dutch Baroque book illustration reached a grand scale. Designs by artists such as Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart were cut in copper by a team of Amsterdam engravers, and the paired scenes were printed on large sheets of laid paper. This sheet is signed in the lower margin by Ottmar Elliger as designer, with the engraving signed by Gouwen. The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins, and the reverse is blank.

Framed with a wide mount, the sheet makes a strong statement in a study, a parish office or a library, and it hangs well alongside other Dutch biblical engravings of the period. It is also an accessible entry point for collectors interested in the Books of Kings.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a few spots in the upper left margin and small chips at the right edge and lower right corner; the image itself is clean.

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