Pair of Antique Religious Engravings

Updated August 31, 2026

A matched pair of framed engravings from the celebrated 16th-century Biblical illustration series Evangelicae Historiae Imagines (Images of Gospel History) by Jesuit priest Jerome Nadal (1507-1580), first published in Antwerp in 1593 by the Plantin Press, with an expanded companion text edition (Adnotationes et Meditationes in Evangelia) issued in 1594-1595. The illustrations were engraved primarily by the Wierix brothers (Hieronymus, Jan, and Antoon Wierix) and other Antwerp engravers, after original designs by Bernardino Passeri and Maarten de Vos. This series is historically important as one of the first widely circulated devotional picture-books to use perspective-based, narrative composition *organizing Gospel scenes according to the liturgical calendar (Sundays, feast days, and weekdays of the church year). Its visual influence carried forward for centuries, reportedly shaping later Bible illustrators such as Gustave Dore. Each print is presented beneath a Latin title block and accompanying descriptive text, consistent with plates removed from a bound folio edition of Nadal's work Housed in later decorative gilt-finish wood frames with black mat borders (frames appear to be a later, non-original addition - likely 19th–20th century). These engravings are consistent in text, layout, plate numbering, and iconography with genuine plates from Nadal's Evangelicae Historiae Imagines series. However, this series was reprinted multiple times from the late 16th through the 18th–19th centuries, and without expert physical examination (watermark analysis, plate-impression depth, paper fiber dating), the exact printing/edition date cannot be certified. These are being sold as period-style engravings from the Nadal/Wierix Gospel series; buyers seeking a certified first-edition (1593) attribution should consult a qualified paper conservator or rare book appraiser prior to bidding.

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