c. 1740 – J. E. Ridinger – Dieser Hirsch von 46 Enden
250 €
Title: “Die Ferte von dem Hirsch”
Description:
A fine print by Johann Elias Ridinger of Augsburg, the greatest animal and hunting artist of 18th-century Germany. It comes from his celebrated series of remarkable stags, “Genaue und richtige Vorstellung der wundersamsten Hirschen sowohl als anderer besonderlicher Thiere, welche von grossen Herren selbst gejagt, geschossen und gefangen worden”. It is signed in the plate “Johan Elias Ridinger delineavit et Sculpsit Aug. Vind.”, meaning drawn and engraved by Ridinger himself in Augsburg.
The print records a real hunting trophy. A huge stag stands in profile on a forest track, carrying an extraordinary, irregular set of antlers with 46 points; the left beam ends in a broad, palm-shaped crown. Behind it lies a wooded, hilly landscape with a fenced field.
The engraved inscription reads: “Dieser Hirsch von 46. Enden, und der bey 550. ℔ gewogen, ist am 31. Augusti 1736. von des Herrn Herzog Franz Josiae zu S. Coburg-Saalfeld Hoch-Fürstl. Durchl. anderthalb Stunden von der Fürstl. Residenz Coburg in denen so genannten Moggenbrunner Feldbüschen in einem Kessel Jagen geschossen worden.”
In English: this stag of 46 points, weighing about 550 pounds, was shot on 31 August 1736 by Duke Franz Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. It was killed an hour and a half from the ducal residence at Coburg, in the Moggenbrunn field thickets, during a “Kesseljagen”, a ring hunt in which the game is driven into an encircled area.
Two tables on either side give its measurements in Schuh and Zoll (feet and inches): 6 Schuh 7 Zoll in total length with the head and 4 Schuh 2 Zoll high over the back, with the size of the head, ears, muzzle, chest and legs.
Duke Franz Josias (1697–1764) was the ancestor of the Saxe-Coburg line that later gave kings to Belgium and Britain: Leopold I of Belgium was his great-grandson, and Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, his great-great-grandson. Moggenbrunn is today part of Meeder, near Coburg.
A striking and historically documented hunting print, by the master of the genre.
Artist/Publisher: Johann Elias Ridinger (1698 – 1767)
Sheet size: 36,8 x 28,3 cm
Year: c. 1740
Technique: copper engraving
Condition:
Good condition. Watermarked paper. Strong, dark impression on laid paper, trimmed just inside the platemark with a narrow margin around the engraved border. Light age toning and minor soiling; a small restoration in the inscription, touching the word “Residenz”.
This is an original antique copper engraving published in circa 1740 and NOT a modern copy or reprint
On your request I will provide a Certificate of Authenticity
In stock
