VERY RARE MID-17TH CENTURY (1643) FRENCH ANTIQUE LARGE FOLIO OPAQUE WATERCOLOR HAND PAINTED (COLORED) MARITIME PRINT on HEAVY MILL BOARD PAPER, BATTLE of GIBRALTAR or 'DESTROIT DE GIBRALTAR,' 1643, with RED, BLUE, PALE YELLOW, BURNT SIENNA, PALE BLUE, PTHALO BLUE & BUFF INK HAND PAINTED WATERCOLOR, FEATURING OPAQUE WHITE WATERCOLOR used 

to ANIMATE GALLEON CANNON CLOUD BURSTS, with NORTHERN, COASTAL MOROCCAN CITY of  TETOUAN PICTURED, MOROCCAN  

MOUNTAINS in DISTANCE & VARIOUS LOUIS XIV'S FRENCH GALLEON WARSHIPS ENGAGING & SUBSEQUENTLY SINKING THREE TURKISH 

VESSELS of OTTOMAN EMPIRE 

[Just recently discovered in a coastal Maine, well- appointed fine estate, out of frame, protected in a large folio & previously laid down on period mill board ]

(Dated 1643)

Mid to late 17th century French & European antique, opaque watercolor, hand painted woodblock prints of historical scenes & maritime battle engagements 

DIMENSIONS: 

24" Width x 19 ¾" Height

Weight: 5 oz.

DESCRIPTION:

Very rare and just recently discovered in a well-appointed, fine coastal Maine early estate, is this absolutely wonderful and in really miraculous, very well-preserved overall antique condition, mid-17th century French, opaque watercolor, hand painted, black woodblock ink, large folio print, depicting the famous mid-17th century, 1643 Battle of Gibraltar, between the French King Louis XIV's armada of state of the art, fierce galleon warships, battling gathered warships of the then Turkish Ottoman Empire off the coast of southern Spain, in the section of the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Morocco and in particular, within the confines of the Straight of Gibraltar or in French (Destroit de Gibraltar.)  The French armada and the Ottoman fleet battled until three of the Ottoman's Turkish warships were subsequently destroyed and sunk by the French, with great loss of life and with the French crown emerging victorious. This very early and very rare mid-17th century French hand tinted woodblock print, depicts French and Ottoman warships in full battle, with sailors jumping from burning ships or seen in rescue row boats on the water, with hand painted opaque white watercolor paint describing plumes of white smoke rising as cannon bursts from both the French and Ottoman Turkish wooden galleon warships. This was an epic battle fought in this narrow passage of the western Mediterranean Sea, some 377 years ago. You don't have to be a mathematician, an early print expert or a bibliophile to understand that this is a very early and an exceptional historical discovery. You will notice that several contemporary reproductions and blown-up details of this same print are now available online for sale. These are derived from this original, period, antique mid-17th century print and aren't even images of the entire print but are rather modern, contemporary close-ups of a portion of this same antique French hand colored woodblock print. Exceptionally rare and very fine. It was just removed from a central Maine coastal estate where it's believed to have been for many years and was undisturbed, protected in a large period portfolio set in a chest of drawers in the home. It was not in a frame but it is thought to have at one point, been displayed in the home in a period gilded, gold frame. This was potentially taken down from one of the walls of the home and at that point removed from its frame, so it could be stored flat in a folio. The frame that fit the print was not discovered in the home when the print was discovered. It was at some previous point in time, laid down and affixed to heavy mill board with some form of fixative (glue.) No attempt has been made to try and remove the antique print from this heavy backing board, to which it's now affixed to. The large folio woodblock print has a central medallion located on the upper, central portion of the pictorial plane in the French language. The paper the woodblock print is printed on is heavy and although the right, left and upper print margins appear to be sharply cut, the lower margin appears to be more ragged, as cotton rag paper appears when it is hand torn off a metal cutting edge, as was done with period maps and large folio prints. Uncut rag paper edges could lead to tearing so often this method of tearing a paper's edge was used to prevent this from happening. An extraordinary discovery. Exciting. It only awaits an appropriate period gilt frame and archival mat board, backing board to complete it and allow it to be once again, proudly displayed on a wall. UV protective, archival rated glass would also be suggested, as this will lesson the degree to which the harmful effects of sunlight can over time, depreciate the saturation of the watercolor paint used. Fortunately, the print was protected over the years and the watercolor paint, as well as the white opaque watercolor used to animate the cannon bursts, have not significantly degraded and remain in nearly undiminished condition. We are very pleased and excited to be able to list this wonderful mid-17th century artifact of world heritage and of European and Near East maritime history. Simply magnificent. A real, honest, authentic original mid-17th century antique woodblock print and not a contemporary facsimile. Outstanding in everyway. simply extraordinary.

CONDITION:

Good to Very Good overall antique condition.