Valenza

Article description

Original antique hand-colored copper engraving, from Gabriel Bodenehr's 'Force d'Europe / Atlas Curieux', published in Augsburg, 1704. Depicting Valenza (Piedmont), this map is a fine example of 1700s European cartography. Image: 142 by 186mm (5 by 7 inches). An attractive and historically significant 18th-century map for the discerning collector. Gabriel Bodenehr the Elder (1664–1758) was a German engraver and publisher based in Augsburg, scion of a distinguished family of engravers. He is best remembered for his 'Atlas Curieux' (1704) and 'Force d'Europe' (c. 1720), which specialized in city plans, fortress views, and military maps—particularly those relating to the War of the Spanish Succession. Bodenehr acquired the plates of Johann Stridbeck (1640–1716) and revised them with his own engravings, producing detailed views of European fortifications and cities. His work is particularly valuable for the study of early 18th-century military architecture and urban geography. Bodenehr maps and views are collected for their combination of historical documentation and decorative engraving quality. This fine engraving shows the italian city Valencia and was published in Gabriel Bodenehr's famous serious "Europeans Macht und Pracht", a series of engravings depicting city views, plans, fortresses and castles in Europe. Many plates often are showing fortifications in Hungary and Southeast Europe, Spain, Belgium, Austria and Germany. Gabriel Bodenehr was during this period a successful publisher for maps and prints in Augsburg in Southern Germany. A fine example from Atlas Curieux / Force d'Europe, Augsburg, sought after by collectors of antique maps of Italy, antique maps of Valenza (Piedmont), and antique hand-colored copper engravings for sale. In very good condition. Light age-toning to the sheet, as expected for a 18th-century map.

Bodenehr, Gabriel – Valenza (Piedmont) · Copper Engraving, Hand Colored · Atlas Curieux / Force d'Europe, Augsburg · 1704