Hand-Colored Dance of Death Etching after Holbein, Death and the Knight, D. Deuchar, London, 1803, Framed

Hand-colored copper-plate etching of Death and the Knight from The Dances of Death, Through the Various Stages of Human Life, etched by David Deuchar, F.A.S., after the designs of Hans (John) Holbein, published in London in 1803 by John Scott and Thomas Ostell. The scene shows a skeletal Death running an armored knight through with a lance, with the Latin scripture text printed beneath. Holbein's Dance of Death, first issued as woodcuts in 1538, is the most famous series in the danse macabre tradition, showing Death coming for people of every rank. Deuchar's edition reproduced the designs in forty-six copper plates with descriptions in French and English. This leaf has been colored by hand and is matted and framed in black with glass. Shows toning and wear consistent with age.