Orpheus Enchanting the Animals

Date: 1618
Medium: Etching
Dimensions:  440 x 675 mm. 17 1/2 x 26 1/2 in.
Reference: Hollstein 104, first state of two, before the name of the publisher changes and before the date "1618" is engraved onto the plate; New Hollstein 44, first state of five, before the several changes of address
Watermark: Crowned Banded Shield with Bears, similar to Briquet 1072 (Freibourg, 1600)
Impression: Brilliant, dark and with contrast and nuance, yet every detail printing clearly from the foreground through the middle ground to the deepest reaches of the far background
Condition: Excellent overall for a sheet this size, abrasion at the bottom corners unaffecting the image and at the top middle edge, a few nicks and very short tears along the sides, unobtrusive original soft drying fold, tip of bottom left corner replaced; small margins on three sides, trimmed unevenly into text area below, but well below the letters