1493 Incunable leaf. Jerusalem Holy Temple in Ezekiel Vision. Nurnberg Chronicle

Description: 1493 Incunable leaf. Jerusalem Holy Temple in Ezekiel Vision. Nurnberg Chronicle Hartmann Schedel LIBER CHRONICARUM [Nuremberg Chronicle] folio leaf from the 1493 original incunabulum edition FOLIO LXVI Recto and Verso have Hand Colored Woodcuts of Drawings and Plans Of the VISIONARY TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL In Jerusalem with black letter Latin text explaining the woodcuts Woodcuts by Pleydenwurff and Wohlgemut Latin text by Hartmann Schedel Anton Koberger, Nuremberg, 1493. Original Latin Edition. Rare and beautifully colored original woodcut views of the prophet’s Ezekiel’s vision of the Holy Temple to be re-built in Jerusalem upon the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile The leaf is sandwiched without any matting between two glass panes secured in a black metal frame, thus affording complete visibility of both sides. Leaf Dimensions: 10.6” x 16.” Frame Dimensions: 17” x 21” Important Note This auction is for the unframed leaf only and the leaf will be shipped to the successful bidder without the frame. If the buyer desires the frame, we will ship it separately to any address within the continental 48 States at no additional charge. We will not ship the frame to any other location. Please note that some of the photographs may include artifacts due to reflections and glare caused by the glass panes, as well as shadows due to uneven lighting. Careful comparisons of the photos will reveal which of these feature are real and which are not. Description of Folio LXVI RECTO ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BUILDING OF THE VISIONARY TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL (A) THE FIRST FIGURE OF THE TEMPLE EDIFICE AS SHOWN TO EZEKIEL OVER THE MOUNTAIN ‘The First Figure of the Temple Edifice as Shown to Ezekiel over the Mountain' (Prima figura edificii templi ostensa Ezechieli super montem). This is a very simple drawing consisting of three squares, one within the other, and representing the inner, middle and outer walls of the Temple, the three spaces within each square being respectively designated as follows: Locus vulgi in hoc spatio per circuitum; or ‘the place of the multitude, which is in this surrounding space.' Atrium exterius in hoc spatio per circuitum; or ‘outer court which is in this surrounding space.' Atrium interius; or ‘inner court.’ (B) THE SECOND FIGURE TO FACILITATE UNDERSTANDING ‘The Second Figure, to Facilitate Understanding' (Secunda figura ad facilius capiendum), consists of a design similar in general outline to the first illustration, but to it are added the following details: The directions in which the walls face, namely, East (Oriens), North (Aquilo), West (Occidens), and South (Auster), are given in Latin. It will be noted in this and succeeding designs that North appears on our right, South on our left; East is at the lower margin of the design, West at the upper. The gates are shown as at right angles they pass through the middle of the three walls in succession on all sides except the West (Occidens), which has no gate. The three sets of gates are thus indicated: Tres portae orientales, or ‘three eastern gates'; Tres portae aquilonares, or ‘three northern gates'; Tres portae australes, or ‘three southern gates'. (C) THE SUCCEEDING TWO FIGURES REPRESENT THE ORNAMENTION OF THE GATE ‘The Succeeding Two Figures Represent the Ornamentation of the Gate' (Sequentes duae figurae ornatum portae repraesentant) is respectively the ground plan and front elevation of the East Gate: The Front Elevation of the East Gate is represented by a drawing entitled Aspectus altitudinis portae orientalis atrii exteriore, et idem intelligendum de aliis duabus (‘Front elevation of the East Gate of the outer court, and the same must be understood concerning the other two'). At the lower end of this elevation we find the outer wall, and behind it, on either side a small house with tiled roof, no doubt intended to represent the three little chambers mentioned by Ezekiel and shown in the ground plan opposite. A medieval door with ornamental hinges admits us through the middle wall, above which are chambers which are designated TEXT A number of enlightened men have written upon the beauty and mighty architecture of the Temple and its ground plans; and particularly so was the divine prophet Ezekiel; for in the twenty-fifth year of the Babylonian captivity, which was also the thirty-third year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, in the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of which, the hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel. And a spirit took him up on a high mountain in the land of Israel, and indicated to him the construction of this city on a mount, and of the Temple. The Vision of the Temple, given in the last nine chapters of Ezekiel, is, as its title makes clear, a vision and description of the new temple which Ezekiel saw from a high mountain in the 25th year of the Captivity and the 14th after the destruction of the holy city. Although a few commentators maintain it was but a description from memory of Solomon's Temple, the majority hold that it has to do with future events. As some authorities observe, the description of the new Jerusalem and its temple is not to be taken literally. It is but a visionary city and temple that are here dealt with. And although the vision remained a dream, it seems to have had its influence on the plan of the actual Temple of the future. This is to be noted in the emphasis laid throughout on the sacrosanct character of the sanctionary. The whole sacred area covered by the Temple and its courts is to be protected from contact with secular buildings.   FOLIO LXVI VERSO ILLUSTRATIONS VISIONARY TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL These illustrations occupy all of Folio LXVI verso, without text except as noted on the illustrations themselves, which appear in the following order: (D) GROUND PLAN OF THE POSTERIOR GATE The first illustration covers the full width of the page and about one-fourth of its depth. It has no title itself, though a title for the entire page is given in the illustration of the elevation below it. The drawing shows the following details: The Walls: Outer Wall. Middle Wall. Wall of the Outer Court: The passage through this wall really connects with a chamber one hundred cubits square, not here shown, which contains the Altar of the Burnt Offerings. And so, through this passage we proceed upward (actually westward), to inspect the rear of the Temple structure, remembering that the word "temple" includes a number of buildings in the manner of a city. The Promenade: Immediately before us is the Temple proper. The Temple. Outbuildings. (E) ELEVATION OF THE EAST GATE AND APPENDAGES (F) ELEVATION OF THE NORTH EDIFICE Nuremberg Chronicle The Liber Chronicarum by Hartmann Schedel printed in Nuremberg by Anton Koberger in 1493, or Nuremberg Chronicle as it is generally called, is one of the most important German incunables and the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century. The text is a universal history of the Christian world from the beginning of times to the early 1490s, written in Latin by the Nuremberg physician and humanist Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514) on commission from the Nuremberg merchants Sebald Schreyer (1446-1520) and Sebastian Kammermeister (1446-1503). Drawn by the author from multiple medieval and Renaissance sources, such as Bede, Vincent of Beauvais, Martin of Tropau, Flavius Blondus, Bartolomeo Platina and Philippus de Bergamo (Iacopo Filippo Foresta), the Chronicle also incorporates geographical and historical information on European countries and towns. The narrative is divided into 11 parts, the so-called world ages, and is profusely illustrated by images of biblical and historical events, and topographical views of towns and countries in Europe and the Middle East, including Jerusalem (and its destruction) and Byzantium. Schreyer and Kammermeister commissioned the printing of the Chronicle to the Nuremberg printer Anton Koberger (ca.1440-1513), owner of the largest 15th-century German printing house. The Latin edition was printed in Koberger's shop between May 1492 and October 1493. In the meantime, a German translation was commissioned by the two financiers to Georg Alt (circa 1450-1510), a scribe at Nuremberg treasury, and the German edition was printed alongside the Latin one between January and December 1493. The project was completed on 23 December 1493. Both editions are lavishly illustrated with 1804 xylographical images created from 641-643 woodblocks by the Nuremberg artists Michael Wolgemut (circa 1434/37 – 1519) and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (circa 1450 – 1494. The woodcut illustrations of a number of copies, both in Latin and in vernacular, were also supplied with hand colouring by contemporary German artists. The alleged involvement in the creation of the woodblocks of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), has now been rejected on the documentary evidence that he only worked as an apprentice in Wolgemut's workshop between 1486 and 1489, well before the beginning of the production of the Chronicle. The beauty of the illustrative apparatus, the skilful production and the elegant mise-en-page of the both the Latin and German editions of the text account for the 'enduring value' of the Nuremberg Chronicle, which survives in circa 1240 copies of the Latin edition and in circa 1580 copies of the vernacular.

Price: 850 USD

Location: NJ

End Time: 2024-08-12T03:18:01.000Z

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