A view of the siege of Mortara, 1658 (Mortara, Lombardy, Italy) 45°14ʹ50ʺN 08°44ʹ07ʺE

Barthélémy Fénis (active 1653-69) (printmaker) [bottom right:] Barthelemy / Fenis Mutine / Fecit

Subject(s)

Watermark: Map: eagle within crowned circle. Mount: none.

Condition: ten fold lines; creased; some foxing and brown coloration to right and bottom edges of mount. Verso: surface dirt along the folds of the left hand side which would have been exposed when the item was folded; foxing to bottom edge. Pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this map/print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso

Scale: 1:22,000 approx. Scale bar: Scala di trecento Passiandti [21 mm =].

33.3 cm (Height) (platemark)

33.0 x 46.1 cm (neatline)

33.4 x 46.4 cm (sheet)

39.8 x 52.1 cm (mount)

Printed title:

DISEGNO DI MORTARA / Assediata dall’ Armi di Sua / Maestá Christianiss.^ma / Sotto il com^mando dell’ / Altezza Sereniss.^ma / DIMODANA [top right, in cartouche embellished with baskets and swags of fruit and cornucopia]

Additional text:

[down right side, in cartouche depicting a curtain hanging on a tasselled cord which forms the top and left borders of the map, a key, A-I, L-T, V, X, Y and 1-84 to the fortifications and regiments.]

Annotations:

Mortara taken by the Duke of Modena 25 August 1658.

Other annotations: (Recto) [along left edge, black pencil, the old heading]. (Verso) [top left, black pencil, partly erased:] III/[135].

George III catalogue entry:

Mortara Disegno di Mortara assediata dall’ Armi di S.M. Christianissima sotto il commando del Duca di Modena et preso li 25 Agosto 1658: da Barthelemy Fenis Mutine.

Bibliographic reference(s)

M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 3233