Ruth and Naomi and Boaz Takes Ruth as His Wife, Mortier Bible 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 Ruth 1, Ruth will not leave Naomi, and Ruth 4, Boaz takes Ruth as his wife at the city gate. It is plate 74 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 the Book of Ruth, chapter 1, verses 7 to 16, in which the widowed Ruth refuses to leave her mother in law Naomi on the road to Bethlehem, with the famous words whither thou goest, I will go.

The lower scene takes Ruth chapter 4, verses 1 to 11, in which Boaz settles the right of redemption before the elders at the city gate and takes Ruth the Moabitess as his wife, the union from which the line of David descends.

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. Elliger inv. for the designer Ottmar Elliger and A. Reinhard fecit 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 uncoloured, 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, small chips along the frayed right edge and a grey smudge in the lower right margin; the engraved image is clean.

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.