| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | Olfert Dapper |
| Published | [Amsterdam, 1670] |
| Dimensions | Image 260 x 340 mm, Plate 268 x 352 mm, Sheet 315 x 370 mm |
| Notes |
A seventeenth century view of the Royal Palaces and City of Marrakech, the historic capital of the kingdom of Morocco, from the German edition of Dapper's Naukeurige Beschrijvinge der Afrikaensche Gewesten, commonly known as the Description of Africa. Central to the view of the city is the great tower of the royal palace, which the description says was wide enough to allow the King to ride on horseback to the top. Other principal buildings and details of the city are labelled with an alphanumeric key in Dutch and English. In the distance, the Atlas mountains can be seen, while the foreground features numerous travellers and merchants in camel caravans, and a group of locals collecting water from a well. Olfert Dapper's 'Description of Africa' was an ethnographic book which offered a detailed description of the parts of Africa known to Europeans in the mid-seventeenth century. Despite the work being regarded as one of the most important and detailed seventeenth-century publications on Africa, Dapper himself never actually visited the continent. Instead, he relied on the reports of Jesuit missionaries and Dutch explorers. The 'Description of Africa' was first published in 1668 by Jacob van Meurs in Amsterdam, with a second Dutch edition appearing in 1676. In 1670, a German translation of the publication was issued, and in the same year, an English translation, which is generally attributed to John Ogilby. A French edition was published in 1676, although it was not as true to the original as the other translations. Olfert Dapper (1636 - 1689) was a Dutch physician and writer. Despite never travelling outside of the Netherlands, Dapper was a writer of world history and geography. Condition: Vertical centre fold as issued. Minor time toning to margins. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £220.00 |
| Stock ID | 45510 |