Samson with the Jawbone and Samson Carries the Gates of Gaza, Mortier circa 1700

This original copper engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, published in Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two Old Testament scenes on one sheet. The subjects are Judges 15, Samson slays a thousand Philistines with a jawbone, and Judges 16, Samson carries off the gates of Gaza. It is plate 71 of the series, a fine example of Dutch Baroque biblical engraving with the upper and lower compositions each set in its own engraved frame.

The upper scene illustrates Judges chapter 15, verse 15, in which Samson, bound and handed over to the Philistines at Lehi, breaks his bonds and slays a thousand men with the fresh jawbone of an ass.

The lower scene takes Judges chapter 16, verse 3, in which Samson, lying in wait at Gaza, rises at midnight and carries off the doors of the city gate with its two posts and bar on his shoulders to the top of a hill.

Pieter Mortier (1661 to 1711) was one of the leading publishers of Amsterdam, and his great illustrated Bible of 1700, the Historie des Ouden en Nieuwen Testaments, was among the most ambitious picture Bibles of the Dutch Golden Age, with more than four hundred scenes engraved on copper. The sheets were laid out as here, two scenes one above the other within engraved frames, each with its own cartouche giving the scripture reference and a caption in Dutch and French. The plate is signed O. Elgers inv. for the designer Ottmar Elliger and A. Reinhard sc. for the engraver, with the imprint P. Mortier edit. cum Privil. Mortier drew on the best draughtsmen and engravers working in Amsterdam, among them Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken, Jan Luyken and Bernard Picart, and the result is a monument of Dutch Baroque book illustration.

The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins and a blank verso, and it is uncolored, as issued. A Mortier Bible engraving of this quality suits a study, library or hallway, and it hangs particularly well with other sheets from the same Bible, where the framed double compositions build into a striking group. It would also make a thoughtful gift for anyone with an interest in the Old Testament, Dutch art or the history of the printed Bible.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a small nick at the right edge and a small dark spot in the lower margin; the engraved image is clean and crisp.