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Views of the River Ij and the Sea
D'Y Stroom en Zee gezichten
Neptune, god of the sea, steers his chariot, drawn by swans, horses, and unicorns, through the harbor of Amsterdam. He escorts Amsterdam herself, personified by a woman who bears the city’s shield, as the pair thread their way between giant ships that carry the riches of Asia to the Netherlands. In the background is the long warehouse of the Dutch East India Company, where all that potential wealth will be processed. This allegory of commerce served as the title page for a series of prints that celebrate the harbor and world-spanning trade of Amsterdam.
The Personification of Amsterdam Riding in Neptune's Chariot
Views of the River Ij and the Sea
D'Y Stroom en Zee gezichten
Ludolf Bakhuizen (Dutch, 1631–1708)
Dutch
1701
Medium/Technique
Etching
Dimensions
Platemark: 19.8 x 26 cm (7 13/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Image: 19 x 25.4 cm (7 1/2 x 10 in.)
Image: 19 x 25.4 cm (7 1/2 x 10 in.)
Credit Line
Harvey D. Parker Collection—Harvey Drury Parker Fund
Accession Number97.1250.3
OUT ON LOAN
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Neptune, god of the sea, steers his chariot, drawn by swans, horses, and unicorns, through the harbor of Amsterdam. He escorts Amsterdam herself, personified by a woman who bears the city’s shield, as the pair thread their way between giant ships that carry the riches of Asia to the Netherlands. In the background is the long warehouse of the Dutch East India Company, where all that potential wealth will be processed. This allegory of commerce served as the title page for a series of prints that celebrate the harbor and world-spanning trade of Amsterdam.
Catalogue Raisonné
Bartsch 01; Hollstein 1, iii
Signed
signed
Marks
Unidentified watermark, l.c.
Recto, l.l., in image: Lugt 892 (Dr. E. Peart, 1756/1758-1824, London and Butterwick)
Verso, l.c.: Lugt 1870 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Harvey D. Parker Collection) and in black ink: 8221
Verso, l.l.: Lugt 1309 (Henry F. Sewall, about 1895, New York)
In graphite, verso, l.l.: tr ; n/
Recto, l.l., in image: Lugt 892 (Dr. E. Peart, 1756/1758-1824, London and Butterwick)
Verso, l.c.: Lugt 1870 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Harvey D. Parker Collection) and in black ink: 8221
Verso, l.l.: Lugt 1309 (Henry F. Sewall, about 1895, New York)
In graphite, verso, l.l.: tr ; n/
InscriptionsIn plate, l.l.: L. Bakhuizen fecit et exc. cum Privil. ord. Holland et West-Frisie
In plate, below image: Zoo bouwt men hier aan't Scheepryk y De Moerbalk van den Staat en Steeden Ten besten van't gemeen en Leeden Van de Indiaansche Maatschappy: Zoo brengt men peerlen, wyd van't een in't ander Landt; Daar Kristus Leerm geleert, gesticht werd, en geplant. Ludolf Bakhuizen.
In brown ink, recto, u.l.: 91680
In plate, below image: Zoo bouwt men hier aan't Scheepryk y De Moerbalk van den Staat en Steeden Ten besten van't gemeen en Leeden Van de Indiaansche Maatschappy: Zoo brengt men peerlen, wyd van't een in't ander Landt; Daar Kristus Leerm geleert, gesticht werd, en geplant. Ludolf Bakhuizen.
In brown ink, recto, u.l.: 91680
ProvenancePossibly Joseph Maberly (b. 1783 - d. 1860), London [see note 1]. Henry Foster Sewall (b. 1816 - d. 1896; Lugt 1309), New York; 1896, by inheritance to his son, Charles Sewall (b. 1848 - d. 1898); 1897, sold by Charles Sewall to the MFA [see note 2]. (Accession Date: April 11, 2022)
NOTES:
[1] A note on the mat, transcribed from an earlier mount, states: "Probably all of this series came from Joseph Maberly's collection, according to Mr. Sewall."
[2] Henry F. Sewall offered his collection to the MFA for purchase in 1888. That purchase was finalized in 1897, one year after Sewall's death.
NOTES:
[1] A note on the mat, transcribed from an earlier mount, states: "Probably all of this series came from Joseph Maberly's collection, according to Mr. Sewall."
[2] Henry F. Sewall offered his collection to the MFA for purchase in 1888. That purchase was finalized in 1897, one year after Sewall's death.