Destruccio Iherosolime [Destruction of Jerusalem], double incunable leaf (No. LXIIII) from Hartmann Schedel's famous "Nuremberg Chronicle." [Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1493]. Latin. One of the earliest scenes of Jerusalem to have appeared in print.
Woodcut depicting the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple at the hands of Nebuzaradan, captain of the body guard of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia, in the year 586 BCE.
The verso of the sheet also bears woodcuts, one depicting King Zedekiah being led, shackled and blinded, into Babylonian captivity, and others portraying kings and prophets of the Kingdom of Judah, including Jehoiachin, Zerubbabel, Haggai, Malachi, and others.
The book titled "The Nuremberg Chronicle" tells of biblical and historical events, from the creation of the world to the author's own period; it bases itself on the Bible, including the New Testament, in addition to various scholarly works. First printed in Anton Koberger's printing press in Nuremberg in 1493, it is considered to be one of the most thoroughly documented incunabula. It was among the first books to integrate illustrations and text, and remains highly regarded till this day, particularly for the quality of the numerous woodcuts featured in it. The woodcuts were created in the studio workshop of the painter and printmaker Michael Wolgemut, one of Nuremberg's leading artists at the time (one of the most famous of the apprentices and students in Wolgemut's workshop was none other than Albrecht Dürer.)
Bifolio, approx. 59X43 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Minor worming (minute damage to print). Lengthy tear and abrasions to middle fold line (the two halves of the bifolio are almost completely disconnected; minor damage to print). Upper margin slightly trimmed (with minor damage to title). Tape residue on edges. Small ink scribble (contemporary; obscures image of Satan on the Mount of Temptation).
Laor 1125.