Jan Luyken’s etching, “Moses leading the Israelites to Mount Sinai”, 1770

Jan Luyken (aka Johannes Luyken; Jan Luijken) (1649–1712)

“Moses leading the Israelites to Mount Sinai” (descriptive title only) (aka “Moses de Kinderen Israels Geheijligd en aanden afgrepaalden berg SINAI henen geleyd heggende; word onder donder en blixem en vreeslyk geluyd der bazuynen, de Wet Gods uit het midden der Wolke asgekondigd. Exod XIX”), plate 27, a gatefold Illustration to the third volume of David and Willem Goeree’s (1635–1711) “Mosaize historie der Hebreeuwse kerke …” (Mosaic history of the Hebrew church …) inserted at page 500 (see this page and the publication online: https://archive.org/details/ned-kbn-all-00007382-001/page/n586/mode/2up), published in Amsterdam in 1700. 

For those who may be unfamiliar with the illustrated passage from the Book of Exodus (Exodus 19), see the translation offered by Biblegateway.com: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2019&version=GW.

Etching on laid paper with two flattened gatefolds, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (unevenly trimmed sheet) 32.2 x 58.1 cm; (plate) 30.5 x 57.4(?) cm; (image borderline) 29.5 x 57 cm.

Lettered in plate above the image borderline: (right) “3 Deel P.500.”

Alphabetically indexed in plate within the image borderline from “A” to “W”.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (centre) “Moses de Kinderen Israels Geheijligd en aanden afgrepaalden berg SINAI henen geleyd heggende; word onder donder en blixem en vreeslyk geluyd der bazuynen, de Wet Gods uit het midden der Wolke asgekondigd. Exod XIX.” (Moses consecrated the Children of Israel, and led them to the forsaken mount SINAI; with thunder and lightning and with a terrible sound of trumpets, the law of God is proclaimed out of the midst of the cloud. Exod[us] XIX)

Van Eeghen 2605 (Pieter van Eeghen & Johan Philip van der Kellen 1905, “Het werk van Jan en Casper Luyken”, Amsterdam, Frederik Muller & Co., vol. 2, p. 486, cat. no. 2605).

Van Eeghen (1905) offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “In the right background [Mt] Sinai surrounded by clouds and fire; Moses stands at the foot of the mountain and speaks to the elders of the people. The foreground is entirely occupied by the Israelites, the men on the left, the women and children on the right, who watch the spectacle with signs of fear and reverence” (p. 486; see https://archive.org/details/hetwerkvanjanen01kellgoog/page/486/mode/1up).  

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression with two flattened gatefolds. The sheet is trimmed unevenly with restorations to fractures/tears (mainly along the folds) and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this large etching that required three folds for it to “fit” the book in which it was published for AU$322 (currently US$215.22/EUR194.74/GBP171.42 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this spectacular etching showing on an epic scale the dark clouds, thunder and lightning accompanying the loud blast from a ram’s horn heralding God’s words to Moses at Mount Sinai, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.