1732 Stocklein View of Mount Horeb and its Vicinity
MountHoreb-stocklein-1732$450.00
Title
Abbildung Des H. Bergs Horeb und Seiner Gegend.
1732 (undated) 8.5 x 8 in (21.59 x 20.32 cm)
1732 (undated) 8.5 x 8 in (21.59 x 20.32 cm)
Description
This is a rare 1732 Joseph Stocklein depiction of Mount Horeb, (identifying it as Mount Sinai) Mount Saint Catherine, and a third mountain labeled 'Strasberg'. The stylized mountains are set in a dramatically foreshortened bird's eye view of the Holy Land, encompassing not only all of the Sinai Peninsula but also including the land of Canaan and (judging by the prominent Crucifixion) Jerusalem itself. Thus Stocklein's view places the site of Moses' receipt of the Ten Commandments in a markedly Christian framework. The view combines scenes from different stages in Biblical history: Atop Horeb/Sinai, a vignette numbered '7' shows Moses receiving the Commandments (the Ark of the Covenant lies beside him, awaiting the tablets.) Nestled between the mountains are the walled compounds of the Monastery of St. Catharina, built between 548 and 565 CE.
At the far left is a body of water, labeled as the Red Sea. At the top center, not to be mistaken for the sun (which can be seen rising to the right of the view, indicating east) is the radiance-streaming Tetragrammaton, reinforcing the identity of Mount Horeb as the 'Mountain of YHWH.' The view is numbered and lettered, with reference to an absent descriptive text.
At the far left is a body of water, labeled as the Red Sea. At the top center, not to be mistaken for the sun (which can be seen rising to the right of the view, indicating east) is the radiance-streaming Tetragrammaton, reinforcing the identity of Mount Horeb as the 'Mountain of YHWH.' The view is numbered and lettered, with reference to an absent descriptive text.
Publication History and Census
This map was created and published by Joseph Stocklein c. 1732 in his Neuer Welt-Bott. It was engraved by Christoph Dietell in Graz. One separate example of this plate is catalogued in the National Library of Israel. We find Neuer Welt-Bott catalogued in fifteen institutional collections.CartographerS
Joseph Stöcklein [Stoecklein] (July 30, 1676 – December 28, 1733) was a Jesuit priest, missionary, and scholar active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was born in Oettingen, Germany and joined the Jesuit order in Vienna around 1700. He served as a priest in military encampments where he became popular as a preacher. Afterwards he became the head of the Jesuit library in Graz, Switzerland, a position he maintained for six years. During this tenure he began work on his opus, the Welt-Bott, a vast compilation of Jesuit missionary letters and narratives translated into vernacular German intended both to glorify the priesthood and share valuable information about the world. Today this work is exceedingly rare. More by this mapmaker...
Christoph Dietell (March 8, 1690 - December 1, 1764) was an Austrian copperplate and letter engraver, and art dealer, active in the 18th century. Dietell was born in Upper Palatinate, Bavaria but relocated to Vienna at a young age. His father, Stephan Dietl, was also a copper plate engraver. Christoph Dietell studied at the University of Vienna as a 'civis academicus' (historian), and did copperplate engraving for the university. By 1732 he was located in Graz, where he became known as a map and landscape engraver, which secured both secular and ecclesiastical business. He died in Graz in 1764. Franz Ambrosius Dietell, his brother, was also a noted Vienna copperplate engraver. Learn More...
Source
Stoecklein, Joseph, Neuer Welt-Bott (Augsburg and Graz), 1732.
Condition
Very good condition. Printers' crease in lower right quarter; else excellent with complete margins and a bold, sharp strike.
References
Laor, E., Maps of the Holy Land: Cartobibliography of Printed Maps, 1475 - 1900, OCLC 234166817.