[Rarebooks] fa: TAPISSERIES DU ROY ca. 1679 - 2 Hand-Colored Engravings of BEES & FIREWORKS

[ArCh]

Listed now, auction ending Sunday, May 6. Images and more details can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

http://tinyurl.com/y7n6m7v3

Thanks again,
Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA


Two handsome hand-colored copper engravings from Tapisseries du Roy, ou sont representez les quatre elemens et les quatre saisons: avec les devises qui les accompagnent et leur explication, ca. 1679, an illustrated survey of the tapestries and other artwork in the collections of Louis XIV of France. Large folio sheets, measuring 368 x 265 mm (ca. 14 1/2 x 10 1/2 in.), printed on laid paper, in Fine condition: very clean, crisp and fresh, with exquisite hand-coloring. Penciled notation on the reverse.

The first engraving depicts an apiary and is accompanied by printed text (describing a device, or emblem, to be found on one of the king's tapestries) reading, in part: "Le Roy des Abeilles [The King of the Bees], avec ce Mot, SIGNAT CLEMENTIA REGEM." The second depicts the 17th-century equivalent of a skyrocket, with the accompanying text: "Une Fusée Volante, avec ces Paroles [A Flying Rocket, with these Words], SPLENDET ET ASCENDIT..."

There were several 17th-century editions of Tapisseries du Roy, in both French and German. Our best guess is that this is from the 1679 Paris edition, with engravings after Charles Le Brun (1619-1690).