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Auction archive: Lot number 52

Guillaume DUPAIX.

Auction 29.04.1999
29 Apr 1999
Estimate
£3,000 - £4,000
ca. US$4,829 - US$6,438
Price realised:
£5,520
ca. US$8,885
Auction archive: Lot number 52

Guillaume DUPAIX.

Auction 29.04.1999
29 Apr 1999
Estimate
£3,000 - £4,000
ca. US$4,829 - US$6,438
Price realised:
£5,520
ca. US$8,885
Beschreibung:

Guillaume DUPAIX. Antiquits mexicaines. Relation des trois expditions.. ordonnes en 1805, 1806 et 1807, pour la recherche des antiquits du pays, notamment celles de Mitla et de Palenque, accompagn des dessins de Castaeda. Paris: Jules Didot l'ain for the Bureau des Antiquits Mexicaines, 1834-1844. 2 volumes, large 2 (526 x 345mm). Half-titles and divisional titles. Lithographic title to atlas volume by Engelmann after C.Farcy, 165 lithographic plates and plans only (of 166) on 160 leaves only (of 161), one double-page, by M.Delaporte, H.Robillard, L.Vitasse, H.Vanderbursch and others after Luciano Castanda, one engraved map. (Lacking plate III in the final section, slight spotting or browning to about 5 plates, plates numbered XXV, XXVII and XXVIII with neatly repaired tears to upper blank margins, occasional browning to a few text leaves.) Contemporary French red half morocco gilt (lower joint of atlas volume slightly split, some scuffing to extremities.) THIS RARE WORK INCLUDES SOME OF THE EARLIEST ACCURATE REPRESENTATIONS OF MAYAN ARCHITECTURE. Guillaume Dupaix, acting on the orders of Charles V of Spain, made three expeditions between 1805 and 1807 to Mitla and Palenque accompanied by the artist Luciano Castaeda and guarded by a troop of Mexican cavalry. The expeditions, acting on information from earlier travellers and despite 'difficults sans nombre', located and successfully liberated the ruins from the jungle by burning away all the surrounding vegetation. The finished manuscript accounts of the journeys together with 145 original drawings were due to be sent to Madrid for publication, however the combination of the uncertainty of the Penininsular war and unrest in Mexico meant that a decision was taken by Casteeda to leave the works on deposit with the 'Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle' in Mexico. The present work is built around these works: they were in effect re-discovered by M.Baradre in 1828 and an agreement was struck with the Mexican government allowing the manuscripts and drawings to be taken to France for publication. The story of the original sites was bought up to date, data from a number of other locations was included, as were speculative articles about the possible origins of the ruins and their inhabitants (including an early attempt to link Egyptian and Mayan civilisations via Atlantis). The title lists five major contributors to the text. The subsequent degradation of a number of the sites (by time and insensitive examination) has meant that the drawings are particularly valuable as the only published record of the finds as they emerged from the jungle. As with many works issued in parts publications seem to have been a protracted and apparently haphazard affair. According to Brunet the work 'a paru en treize livraisons [or parts], la dernire comptant pour deux'. The price per part was 40fr., with copies available with the plates on 'papier de Chine' (at 50 fr. per part) or with the plates coloured (at 60fr.). The date of publication is problematic: the present copy includes a section title dated 1844, Brunet dates the work to 1834-1836 and Sabin 1833-1834. Brunet I,321; Palau 13069; Sabin 40038 (all with varying plate counts). (2)

Auction archive: Lot number 52
Auction:
Datum:
29 Apr 1999
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
Beschreibung:

Guillaume DUPAIX. Antiquits mexicaines. Relation des trois expditions.. ordonnes en 1805, 1806 et 1807, pour la recherche des antiquits du pays, notamment celles de Mitla et de Palenque, accompagn des dessins de Castaeda. Paris: Jules Didot l'ain for the Bureau des Antiquits Mexicaines, 1834-1844. 2 volumes, large 2 (526 x 345mm). Half-titles and divisional titles. Lithographic title to atlas volume by Engelmann after C.Farcy, 165 lithographic plates and plans only (of 166) on 160 leaves only (of 161), one double-page, by M.Delaporte, H.Robillard, L.Vitasse, H.Vanderbursch and others after Luciano Castanda, one engraved map. (Lacking plate III in the final section, slight spotting or browning to about 5 plates, plates numbered XXV, XXVII and XXVIII with neatly repaired tears to upper blank margins, occasional browning to a few text leaves.) Contemporary French red half morocco gilt (lower joint of atlas volume slightly split, some scuffing to extremities.) THIS RARE WORK INCLUDES SOME OF THE EARLIEST ACCURATE REPRESENTATIONS OF MAYAN ARCHITECTURE. Guillaume Dupaix, acting on the orders of Charles V of Spain, made three expeditions between 1805 and 1807 to Mitla and Palenque accompanied by the artist Luciano Castaeda and guarded by a troop of Mexican cavalry. The expeditions, acting on information from earlier travellers and despite 'difficults sans nombre', located and successfully liberated the ruins from the jungle by burning away all the surrounding vegetation. The finished manuscript accounts of the journeys together with 145 original drawings were due to be sent to Madrid for publication, however the combination of the uncertainty of the Penininsular war and unrest in Mexico meant that a decision was taken by Casteeda to leave the works on deposit with the 'Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle' in Mexico. The present work is built around these works: they were in effect re-discovered by M.Baradre in 1828 and an agreement was struck with the Mexican government allowing the manuscripts and drawings to be taken to France for publication. The story of the original sites was bought up to date, data from a number of other locations was included, as were speculative articles about the possible origins of the ruins and their inhabitants (including an early attempt to link Egyptian and Mayan civilisations via Atlantis). The title lists five major contributors to the text. The subsequent degradation of a number of the sites (by time and insensitive examination) has meant that the drawings are particularly valuable as the only published record of the finds as they emerged from the jungle. As with many works issued in parts publications seem to have been a protracted and apparently haphazard affair. According to Brunet the work 'a paru en treize livraisons [or parts], la dernire comptant pour deux'. The price per part was 40fr., with copies available with the plates on 'papier de Chine' (at 50 fr. per part) or with the plates coloured (at 60fr.). The date of publication is problematic: the present copy includes a section title dated 1844, Brunet dates the work to 1834-1836 and Sabin 1833-1834. Brunet I,321; Palau 13069; Sabin 40038 (all with varying plate counts). (2)

Auction archive: Lot number 52
Auction:
Datum:
29 Apr 1999
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
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