1721 Copper Engraving Portrait Child Ferdinandus Ferdinand IV King Romans EUM1

This is an original 1721 black and white copper engraving of "Ferdinandus Ertzhertzog zu Österreich." This is a portrait of Ferdinand IV as a child. Ferdinand IV was King of the Romans, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, and successor to the Holy Roman Throne, but died of smallpox at the age of twenty-one, leaving his brother, Leopold I, as the heir to the Holy Roman thrown. The portrait is surrounded by a wonderful decorative motif mimicking classical architecture set against an etched background. The design features two cherubs flanking an urn resting upon the top of a classical portico supported by two Ionic columns. The base of the structure supporting the columns features a decorative frieze depicting two cornucopias resting upon a geometric design. Ferdinand IV is unabashedly pulling back an interior drape to peer at the viewer.

CONDITION

This 290+ year old Item is rated Very Fine +++. Moderate foxing - left margin. No creases. No natural defects.No surface rub.No tears. No water damage. Please note: There is a plate impression bordering the image in this print.

• Product Type: Original Copper Engraving; Black / White
• Grade: Very Fine +++
• Dimensions: Approximately 8 x 13.5 inches; 20 x 34 cm
• Authentication: Serial-Numbered Certificate of Authenticity w/ Full Provenance
• Protection: Packaged in a custom archival sleeve with an acid-free black board (great for display, gift-giving, and preservation)

Period Paper is pleased to offer an extremely rare and impressive early eighteenth century collection of biographies and portrait engravings and etchings, produced in Leipzig, Germany in 1721 and 1722. Included are notable monarchs, rulers, religious figures, and members of notable Houses throughout Europe, including several genealogical charts of dynastic lines, spanning the sixteenth to early eighteenth centuries. The collection is comprised of exquisitely engraved and etched copper portrait plates framed by varying decorative motifs, all engraved by Johann Friedrich Rosbach. Many of the portraits include separate biographical pieces ranging in length from a single paragraph to several pages for more notable European monarchs and emperors. If present, the accompanying text is in German and is composed of beautiful woodcut text, with most pages containing elegantly etched drop cap initials, head-and tail-pieces and vignettes. The superb, folio-sized stock upon which the collection is engraved and etched employed the latest advances in eighteenth century paper making and highlights the era's predilection for strong, lightly sized paper with a fine structure and smooth surface. The paper's characteristics are thus similar to Japanese Gampi, and the result is well-preserved and crisp images that exceptionally capture Rosbach's fluid and sharp line work. This collection represents a unique opportunity to collect a valuable part of European history stunningly composed and illustrated.

Keywords specific to this image: Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Dynasty, Habsburg Monarchy, Austrian Monarchy, European History, European Royalty, Nobility

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