Rebuilding the Temple and the City of Jerusalem, Pieter Mortier, circa 1700

This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: Ezra 3, rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem, and Ezra 4:12, the Jews rebuilding Jerusalem. The upper scene illustrates Ezra chapter 3, the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem after the return from exile in Babylon. In the foreground the leaders of the returned community study a large plan, while behind them masons, carters and laborers crowd a building site where a domed temple rises among scaffolding and kilns.

The lower scene, captioned Ezra 4 verse 12, shows the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem by the Jews, the work that their opponents reported to the Persian king as the building of a rebellious city. Ladders lean against half finished walls, workers haul stone and timber, and armed figures stand among the builders, a crowded and energetic composition full of small incident. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 115 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. The designer's signature in the lower margin is only partly legible and probably reads B. Picart, as on the neighboring plates of this sequence, while the engraver signs as Vianne. 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 return from exile. 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 frayed right edge with small losses and a small stain in the lower right margin; the image is clean.

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