Sunday, September 4, 2016

Morisco style Curb-bit from Dorohostajski

Salve,
on the Polish digital library site Polona there is a 1620 version of Krzysztof Dorohostajski Leliwa coat of arms book titled 'Hippica to iest o koniach xięgi' (Hippica or books on horses)
Hippika title page engraved by Makowski

with etchings done by a Polish master engraver Tomasz Makowski (circa 1575-1630AD), also a very skilled cartographer as we will see below, including this beautiful rendering of a Morisco bit
Morisco bit

Master Tomasz worked for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania  prince Mikołaj(Nicolas) Krzysztof Radziwiłł nicknamed Sierotka (the Little Orphan) Trąby coat of arms, author, pilgrim (went to the Holy Land, and to Egypt- where he got mummies, and wrote a book about this experience here 1607 translation from Latin to Polish by a Jesuit father Andrzej Wargocki, 1925 edition by a linguist, librarian and historian of literature Jan Czubek ), warrior, statesman and also the builder of many manors, churches, and among them the famous castle at Nieśwież/Nesvizh
prince Mikolaj painted circa 1590

Makowski etching of prince Mikolaj

Nieswiez engraved by Makowski
and among many projects engraved a map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania..
with these interesting details showing Polish-Lithuanian soldiers advancing against some mounted foes, most likely the Crimean and/or other Pontic steppes Tatars
The engraved map was 'stolen' by the Dutch printmakers and published without attribution to master Tomasz  in their world atlases etc (eg here ) - no American FBI and no copyrights then _:)
enjoy

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