Musical Instruments of the East, Antique Niebuhr Copper Engraving, 1776

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, plate XXVI of volume 1 of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie, a wide folding sheet. No title is engraved on it; it is lettered only with its number, the engraver's name and the keys A to T. It shows a full sheet of musical instruments.

The left half is filled with stringed instruments drawn upright: long necked lutes with round, pear shaped and deep ribbed bodies (A and B among them) and a large lute with a pierced soundboard. Small fragments of music staff with notes are engraved beside B, C, D and H. F is a fiddle with a box shaped body set on a long spike, and G a long necked instrument with a round, drum like body. D is a short lute with a carved head and E a fiddle with a small round body on a spike, drawn with its bow. To the right, H is a lyre with its strings stretched from a yoke down to a round body, and I a long trumpet bent back on itself. K, L and M are pipes, K with a flared bell and L covered in a crossed pattern. In the lower right are drums and small percussion: a cylindrical drum with a beater (O), a goblet shaped drum (R), a small frame drum with jingles (P), a small cup shape (Q) and a small drum on a handle (S). T, at the lower left, is a box carrying a cone and two small figures.

Under the lower right corner of the image is lettered "C. F. Fritsch, Sculp." The plate number Tab: XXVI. is engraved at the upper right.

The sheet comes from the first volume of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, the Tome Premier, translated from the German and issued at Amsterdam by S. J. Baalde and at Utrecht by J. van Schoonhoven and Comp., with the date MDCCLXXVI 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.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom, left and top edges. A few small spots in the margin. Folding plate, original center fold as issued. A small nick in the left edge.

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