"Tempe", Ortelius, Abraham

This stunning engraving illustrates the Vale of Tempe in Thessalia, at the foot of Mount Olympus, a mixture of Greek myth and history. Ortelius described it as "where people dwell, meet in companies, and having done divine service and ceremonies in due form and manner, they banquet and make merry." Latin text on verso, published in 1624.

References: Van den Broecke #231.

Condition: A

A crisp impression on a bright sheet with professional repairs mostly confined to the blank margins, including a chip at top right, centerfold separations at top and bottom, a tear that just passes the neatline at top, and a tiny worm hole in the center of the image.