Two Palanquins, One Carried by Four Bearers, Antique Niebuhr Print, 1780

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1780, plate XIII of the second volume of Carsten Niebuhr's travels. The plate carries no caption; its two scenes are keyed only by the capital letters A and B.

The upper panel, A, shows an open palanquin carried by four bearers, two at the front and two at the back, each pair shouldering the end of a single long pole with carved ends. The litter is a flat couch on short lion paw feet, with a bolster at one end, and above it the pole carries a broad arched awning hung with tassels. The bearers wear small caps and loincloths and walk across open ground. The lower panel, B, shows a closed palanquin standing on the ground, without bearers. Its body is a long box with a high, curved roof and sides drawn in a grid of slats, with a small window shaded by a hinged flap, and the carrying pole runs straight through from end to end. It too stands on lion paw feet.

The plate is signed "Th. Koning, sculps." below the lower right corner of the border, and lettered "Tab. XIII." at the upper right.

This sheet belongs to the second volume of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, issued at Amsterdam by S. J. Baalde and at Utrecht by Barthelemy Wild, with MDCCLXXX 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. The account was first published in German at Copenhagen; this is the French translation printed in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right corner. Several larger brown marks.

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