Antique Philippines Deer Hunt – Mariveles Mountains, Danvin 1836

Description

Philippines Deer Hunt Engraving

This original Philippines deer hunt engraving depicts a dramatic hunting scene in the Mariveles Mountains, on the Bataan Peninsula of Luzon.

Mounted hunters and a running huntsman pursue a stag with a pack of hounds across an open valley. Dense tropical vegetation, monumental trees and rugged mountain peaks create an impressive setting behind the animated foreground.

The original French title printed beneath the image reads “Chasse au Cerf dans les montagnes de Mariveles”. The heading “Îles Philippines” and plate number 290 appear above the composition.

Mariveles and the Bataan Peninsula

Mariveles lies at the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, near the entrance to Manila Bay. Its mountainous landscape and dense tropical forests provided European readers of the early 19th century with a striking image of the Philippine archipelago.

The engraving combines documentary geography with the picturesque and romantic approach characteristic of illustrated travel publications of this period.

Danvin and Cholet

The landscape was drawn by the French painter and illustrator Victor-Marie-Félix Danvin and engraved on steel by Cholet.

It was produced for Grégoire Louis Domeny de Rienzi’s important geographical and ethnographic publication “Océanie ou Cinquième partie du monde”, published in Paris by Firmin Didot frères in 1836.

The steel-engraving technique made it possible to render the luxuriant vegetation, distant mountains, moving animals and atmospheric sky with exceptionally fine lines and subtle tonal variations.

Details

• Original title: Chasse au Cerf dans les montagnes de Mariveles

• Heading: Îles Philippines

• Location: Mariveles, Bataan, Luzon, Philippines

• Artist: Victor-Marie-Félix Danvin

• Engraver: Cholet

• Author: G. L. Domeny de Rienzi

• Publisher: Firmin Didot frères, Paris

• Date: 1836

• Technique: steel engraving

• Plate number: 290

• Sheet dimensions: 19.4 × 12.7 cm

• Image dimensions: 14.5 × 9 cm

• Period: 19th century

Condition

Good antique condition. A few small spots and minor age-related marks are visible, particularly in the sky and margins. The lower edge is slightly irregular and shows a few very small beginning tears. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an essential part of the description.

This is an authentic 19th-century impression and not a modern reproduction.