Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
Description

Rare early view of Marrakesh.

Rare and superb view of the city of Marrakech and its walled fortifications, from the book Archontologia Cosmica published in 1649.

The view is derived from a print of 1646 by Adriaen Matham, who accompanied in 1641 the Dutch Embassy led by Antoine Liedekerke with the Sultan of Morocco.

In the city, one can see the royal castle with a high tower, the home of the four wives of the king, the place of the burials of the queens, the ordinary residence of the Sultan and the tower with three golden apples.

The view is adorned with a title inscribed in a floating banner, and the coat of arms of Emperor Muley Hamet.

Condition Description
2 sheets, joined.
Matthaus Merian Biography

Mathaus Merian (1593-1650) was the father of engraver Matthäus the Younger, and of the painter, engraver, and naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian. He was born in Basel, Switzerland and trained in engraving in Zurich. After a time in Nancy, Paris and Strasbourg, he settled in Frankfurt. While there, he worked for Johann Theodor de Bry, the publisher and son of the travel writer. In 1617, he married Maria Magdalena de Bry, Johann Theodor’s daughter. In 1623, Merian took over the de Bry publishing house upon the death of his father-in-law. Merian’s best known works are detailed town views which, due to their accuracy and artistry, form a valuable record of European urban life in the first half of the sixteenth century