Temple of Jupiter Ammon in Libya, Antique Hand Colored Aquatint, 1810

An original antique aquatint with original hand color, published in London in 1810, after a drawing by Luigi Mayer. The caption reads "TEMPLE OF JUPITER AMMON IN LIBYA.", Libya here meaning the desert west of the Nile in the old sense of the name.

The temple is shown from outside as a plain rectangular building of very large squared stone blocks, with a doorway in the long wall and a second opening at the left end. A man in a white robe stands in the doorway, and another looks out of the opening at the left. To the left a group of men in dark cloaks and caps hold long spears, and at the right a man in a white robe with a spear raises one hand toward the wall. Fallen blocks lie in a heap at the right, and date palms show behind the building.

The caption is engraved in open capitals below the image, and the imprint beneath it names R. Bowyer at 80 Pall Mall and the year 1810. No artist or engraver is named on the plate; the aquatints in this book are unsigned and are probably the work of William Watts.

The plate belongs to Views in the Ottoman Dominions, in Europe, in Asia, and some of the Mediterranean Islands, from the original drawings taken for Sir Robert Ainslie by Luigi Mayer, printed by T. Bensley for R. Bowyer in London in 1810 with 71 hand colored aquatint plates (Abbey, Travel II, 371; Tooley 321). Luigi Mayer (1755 to 1803) was an Italian born artist who worked in the Ottoman Empire for Sir Robert Ainslie, British ambassador at Constantinople from 1776 to 1792. The oracle of Ammon stood at the oasis of Siwa, and Alexander the Great consulted it in 331 BC.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom, right and top edges. Foxing over much of the margin. All four corners complete. One larger brown mark.

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