Etching, 1629. 108x83 mm; 4 1/2x3 1/2 inches, thread margins. Biörklund's second state (of 3), with the delicate wiping scratches in the background distinct; Usticke's first state (of 2); White and Boon's second state (of 2); New Hollstein's second state (of 2); after the reduction of the plate. A superb, richly-inked, early impression of this exceedingly scarce etching, with strong contrasts, uneven partially inky plate edges and no sign of wear, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject.
There is only one known first state impression, now in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. We have found approximately only 12 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
Provenance: Heneage Finch, Earl of Aylesford, London (Lugt 58, verso). Bartsch 117; Biörklund 32-7; Hollstein (White and Boon) 117; New Hollstein 27.
