Engraving, circa 1475-80. 260x409 mm; 10 1/4x16 1/4 inches. Small jug surmounted by a cross watermark (Briquet 12502). Trimmed inside the plate mark with most of the composition and the figures preserved. A very good, well-inked and dark impression of this extremely scarce, early engraving with strong contrasts.
We have found only 6 other impressions at auction in the past 25 years.
This is one of four engravings of mythological scenes by the famous Renaissance painter Mantegna (1431-1506) that date from the late 1400s and forms a sort of pendant with his Bacchanal with a Wine Vat, engraving, though the two scenes were not concieved as a single composition like The Battle of the Sea Gods, engraving, circa 1485-88. Bartsch 20; Hind 3.
