Genuine etching or modern reproduction?

eBay item number:234391955748 is a collection of Boydell prints, including Niobe. There are many photos with the listing, a good opportunity to examine the paper.

 

Do you have a direct link? I can't find it with the number unfortunately.

 

Try https://www.ebay.com/itm/234391955748

We have been finding that what should be direct links, like this one, do not work. If that is the case, I suggest you simply go to eBay.com (eBay US) & paste the number into search. Good luck.

Edit: I tried the link & just got a black screen. Use the other method.

 

The link worked for me. Thank you very much!

Hopefully some of the experts on here will pitch in here, that would be great

 

The British Museum has a fairly high-res image where you can zoom to see the paper...that is, the paper used on that particular print.

 

Yes, thank you very much. Do you have an opinion on my paper compared to this one from the British Museum?

 

Looks quite different to my eye. The print in the British Museum looks like a rag paper, but without the pebble texture. Does the paper on yours have the pebbled texture on both sides?

 

I can't say but the back looks like this:

 

Why don't you start by verifying that yours is the same size as the others? You have measurements from two museums.

Debora

 

Size seem to be a match yes.

 

This is a difficult one. The quality of the printing and the presence of a plate mark would suggest authenticity. The questions are about the paper used.

Photographs taken by a museum for their records may use lighting that minimizes the texture, whereas your lighting seems to enhance it. Wove paper was invented in the mid 1750s, shortly before the original date of this print. So it is possible that there would be no laid lines visible. Wove paper was designed to present a smoother surface, but depending on the thickness of the sheet and whether it was "calendered" or not, it might be more "pebbly".

The comparisons we have found so far do not include technical descriptions of the paper used, or photographs detailed enough to be sure. Another feature to look for, if it can be unframed, is if there is a watermark that would identify the papermaker.

Another approach is to try to find other examples of later reprints for comparison - was this particular work popular enough that it was frequently reproduced using later technologies?

 

Order this image here:

https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/725480

Debora

 

Are you pointing to the "Order this image"? I think this just means downloading an image. Following the link, there is a separate line for "Buy this as a print". But that link takes you to another page where I did a search for "Niobe" and found nothing.

 

Thank you for the reply! And yes, i've looked for evidence for later reprints but can't say I have found any. So far at least.

 

Its a fun little headscratcher in any case at least.

 

Close up of signature and the edge of the platemark (bottom right) if anyone is interested in that.

 

And with the frame. Shame about the chips on the left side of the frame but otherwise quite nice.

If anyone have any tips on how one might fix those or on how to "hide" the chips as good as possible they'd be of great help

What a lovely place this is btw. Thank you everyone, hope to become a regular here.

 

This company produces reproductions of Niobe on a selection of different papers. On the right side of their page, under "Medium & Stretcher", click on the down arrow to reveal their choices of paper. Then select any of the watercolor papers. A "?" appears next to the selection. Clicking on that will take you to closeups of the various papers.

https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-a...The-Destruction-of-the-Children-of-Niobe.html

 

Yes, I was wondering if it might be Meisterdrucke (I am familiar with them) but theirs doesn't have the markings one finds one mine obviously so doubt its from them.

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear. My only point was that reproductions did appear to have been available at some point.

Debora