Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 19

Hand-colored 16th century copy of the famous Moerentorf Bible

About the Item

Publisher: Daniel Vervliet and Hendrik Swingen for Jan I Moretus & Jan I van Keerberghen Place / Date: Antwerp, 1599 Biblia sacra. Dat is de geheele heylighe schrifture bedeylt int out ende nieu Testament: van nieus met groote neersticheyt oversien, ende naer den lesten Roomschen text verbetert door sommighe doctoren inder Heyligher Godtheyt inde vermaerde universiteyt van Loven. Biblia sacra. Dat is de geheele heylighe schrifture bedeylt int out ende nieu Testament: van nieus met groote neersticheyt oversien, ende naer den lesten Roomschen text verbetert door sommighe doctoren inder Heyligher Godtheyt inde vermaerde universiteyt van Loven. 2 volumes bound as 1. Folio. With an engraved title page (colored by a contemporary hand with extensive use of gold) showing Moses on the left, David on the right, and the four evangelists below, and 90 woodcuts in the text of both the Old and the New Testament, all except one vividly colored by a contemporary hand. Contemporary richly blind-tooled calf over wooden boards, sewn on 5 supports, with brass catch plates, remnants of leather strap fastenings, brass corner pieces on all corners, and a brass centerpiece on each board, all with brass bosses. [4], 410; [106] ll. Extraordinary copy of the first edition, published by Moretus (Moerentorf) & Van Keerberghen, of the famous Moerentorf Bible in the vernacular Dutch language, printed in 1599, especially interesting for its vivid contemporary hand-coloring and its richly blind-tooled contemporary binding. The authoritative Moerentorf Bible or Moretus Bible, was a revision of the 1548 Louvain Bible in Dutch, but corrected based on the improved Latin Vulgate of 1592 published by the authority of Pope Clement VIII. The Moerentorf Bible met extraordinary success and "became the standard Bible for Dutch Roman Catholics" (Darlow & Moule) for almost three centuries, being repeatedly reprinted as the official Dutch translation of the Vulgate in the Low Countries. Jan Moerentorf, better known as Jan I Moretus, published this revised Dutch translation of the Old and New Testament in 1599 with the title Biblia sacra. The first woodcut of the Old Testament, in Genesis, is signed "P.B" by Peter van der Borcht, a Flemish painter, draughtsman, and etcher who was full-time assistant to Christopher Plantin and illustrated many of his liturgical works. The other woodcut illustrations in the Old Testament are copied from the engraved print series of the German painter and printmaker Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), who was especially known for his tiny engravings. The present edition appeared in two issues, one with the imprint of Moretus alone and the present one with the imprint of Moretus and Van Keerberghen. Poortman shows a completely different first woodcut illustration (not signed P.B.) for the Moretus version, says its other illustrations are printed from a different series of blocks, differing in detail and rendering the scenes in mirror image, and also notes differences in the orthography. With the bookplate (on the front paste-down) and library stamp (on a free endleaf, the back of the title page, and the first text page) of Wetenschappelijke Bibliotheek Eindhoven, the former monastic library of the Augustinian monastery in Eindhoven and one of the most important scholarly theological libraries of the Netherlands. Also with one contemporary annotation on Pp1 of the Old Testament. The binding was slightly worn around the edges, especially around the spine, the edges a little dust-soiled, and some damage to the backboard where the leather fastenings were originally attached to the boards with brass pins. Minor marginal stains, spots, and dust-soiling, mostly in the first part, and a few creases throughout the book, a small tear in the right lower corner of Oo6 in the Old Testament (not affecting the text), a larger tear (partly restored) and restoration in the foot margin in L6 of the Old Testament. The coloring of the initials and woodcuts has slightly browned the paper. Overall, however, the Bible is in good condition. A beautiful copy of one of the most important Dutch Bibles ever published, here in a richly blind-tooled contemporary binding and complete with all the illustrations colored by a contemporary hand. Literature: Darlow & Moule 3300; Biblia Sacra 1599; USTC 402496; not in Adams.
  • Creator:
    Henry Moret (Maker)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 13 in (33 cm)Width: 10.63 in (27 cm)Depth: 4.34 in (11 cm)
  • Style:
    Baroque (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1599
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: Jacob B. de Roo, owner since 2004 from Antiquariaat De Roo1stDibs: LU9419237672502

More From This Seller

View All
Colored wall map of the WORLD
By Chambon
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
“Mappe Monde, contenant les Parties Connues du Globe Terrestre” CHAMBON, Gobert-Denis (France, 17.. - 1781) Paris, Longchamps et Janvier, 1754 Size H. 115 x W. 145 cm. Gobert-Denis Chambon made copper engraving after the work of Guillaume De L’Isle, published in 1754 by Jean Janvier and S.G. Longschamps. A huge wall map of the world in two hemispheres printed on two sheets, depicting the Eastern and Western hemispheres supported by two male figures, decorated at the bottom right and left with two celestial hemispheres (boreal and southern) and at the bottom in the middle with an armillary sphere, in addition. This map is most notable for its depiction of the Sea of Japan labeled "Mer de Corée" and of "Mer de L'Ouest" or Sea of the West - a great sea, easily the size of the Mediterranean, to flow from the then-known Strait of Juan de Fuca...
Category

Antique Mid-18th Century French French Provincial Maps

Materials

Wood, Paper

Colored wall map of the WORLD
$28,243 Sale Price
20% Off
Free Shipping
Hand-coloured set of Buffon’s Histoire naturelle in its most luxurious form
By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
Publisher: Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de Place / Date: Dordrecht, Abraham Blussé, 1766-1799 Size: 38 parts in 21 volumes. Large 4to. With more than 1100 hand-coloured engraved ...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century Dutch Dutch Colonial Books

Materials

Paint, Paper

Seminal guide to the East and West Indies, with 42 coloured maps and plates
By Jan Huygen van Linschoten
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
Seminal guide to the East and West Indies, with 42 double-page and folding plates, including 6 maps, all engravings beautifully coloured by a contemporary hand LINSCHOTEN, Jan Huygh...
Category

Antique Early 17th Century Dutch Dutch Colonial Books

Materials

Paper

A decorative pair of rare table globes in a fine condition.
By Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
These pair of globes, dated 1730, are original and in fine condition. Title: Globus terrestris novus Loca Terrae insigniora sec. praestant Astron. et Geogr. observationes sistens op...
Category

Antique Early 18th Century German Baroque Globes

Materials

Other

A pair of extremely rare Valk table globes
By Gerard and Leonard Valk
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
Title on the globes: VALK, Gerard and Leonard. [Terrestrial globe:] Cosmotheore, caelesti nostro globo, par, et plane novus, hic terrestris ut existeret, certo scias, errore veterum ...
Category

Antique 18th Century Dutch Dutch Colonial Globes

Materials

Other

A pair of extremely rare Valk table globes
$258,895 Sale Price / set
20% Off
Free Shipping
A fine pair of miniature globes on stands
By Karl Muller
Located in ZWIJNDRECHT, NL
A rare pair of miniature terrestrial and celestial globes. by K. Müller, 1822 Karlsruhe, Germany Diameter globes: 7 cm. Total high: 14,5 cm. Each with 12 hand-coloured engraved p...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century German International Style Globes

Materials

Hardwood, Paper

A fine pair of miniature globes on stands
$13,238 Sale Price
25% Off
Free Shipping

You May Also Like

Northern Scotland: A 16th Century Hand-colored Map by Mercator
By Gerard Mercator
Located in Alamo, CA
A framed hand-colored 16th century map of Northern Scotland by Gerard Mercator entitled "Scotiae pars Septentrionalis", published in Amsterdam in 1636. It is a highly detailed map of the northern part of Scotland, with the northwest Highlands and the cities Inverness and Aberdeen, as well as the Orkney Islands and the Hebrides. There is a decorative title cartouche in the upper left corner. The map is presented in an antiqued brown wood...
Category

Antique 16th Century Dutch Maps

Materials

Paper

19th Century Reprint of 16th Century Harbor Map of Copenhagen
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
This reprint of 1587 antique map of Copenhagen, Denmark retains its original mid-century mat and has been recently reframed in classic wood frame. The muted sepia colored map is a wo...
Category

Antique 1880s Danish Baroque Maps

Materials

Wood, Paper

Child Jesus - Umbria, first half of the 16th century
Located in Bruxelles, BE
Child Jesus Polychrome and gilded wood Umbria, first half of the 16th century H 40 cm Entirely naked, the Child is standing, leaning on his left leg, his right leg forward; he keep...
Category

Antique 16th Century Italian Renaissance Religious Items

Materials

Wood

Early 16th Century Stone Carving - 'The Death of a Prelate'
Located in Basildon, GB
An Early 16th Century Stone Carving with polychrome : 'The Death of a Prelate'. The enthroned figure of a Bishop surrounded by attendants and surmounted by celestial angels.
Category

Antique 16th Century European Gothic Religious Items

Materials

Stone

Suit of 16th Century Style Armour
Located in Cheshire, GB
A suit of 16th century style armour, the helmet with pierced visor, raised comb applied and twist border collar, two-piece breastplate with medial ridge, twist border shoulder plates...
Category

Antique 19th Century British Arms, Armor and Weapons

Materials

Metal

Suit of 16th Century Style Armour
Located in Cheshire, GB
A suit of 16th century style armour, the helmet with pierced visor, raised comb applied and twist border collar, two-piece breastplate with medial ridge, twist border shoulder plates...
Category

Antique 19th Century British Arms, Armor and Weapons

Materials

Metal

Recently Viewed

View All