Death of Antiochus and Eleazar Slays the War Elephant, Mortier, circa 1700

This original copperplate engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two biblical scenes on one sheet: 2 Maccabees 9, the death of the godless Antiochus, and 1 Maccabees 6:43, the heroic death of Eleazar. The upper scene illustrates 2 Maccabees chapter 9, the death of King Antiochus Epiphanes, persecutor of the Jews, who fell from his chariot and was struck with an incurable disease. The king lies fallen amid his attendants in a hilly landscape, with his army and chariots beyond.

The lower scene shows 1 Maccabees chapter 6, verse 43, the heroic death of Eleazar, brother of Judas Maccabeus, who ran beneath a war elephant he believed carried the king and killed it, and was crushed as it fell. The great elephant with its tower of armed men dominates a battle scene of horsemen and fallen soldiers. Each scene carries its own engraved caption with the scripture reference in Dutch and French, and the sheet is numbered 137 in the lower margin.

Mortier's illustrated Bible stands among the landmarks of Dutch Baroque book illustration. The Amsterdam publisher brought together a team of designers and engravers, with contributing artists including Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart, to produce a continuous pictorial narrative of scripture, each copper plate carrying two scenes framed like paintings hung on a wall. This sheet is signed in the lower margin by Jan Goeree as designer, with the engraving signed by Scherm. The sheet is printed on laid paper with full margins, and the reverse is blank.

For display, the tall double composition works well in a hallway or beside a bookcase, and a pair or group of Mortier sheets makes a coherent wall of Baroque religious art. Collectors of engravings illustrating the Maccabees will find it a well documented and attractive example.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a vertical crease in the right margin and minor corner and edge wear; the image itself is clean and strong.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.