Among subjects of sacred history the story of ‘Jepthah’s Daughter’ has been one of the most attractive from the Bible. It has been painted a great many times, but that does not lessen the interest in the theme, or the charm, which belongs to the poetical interpretation of the subject by Professor Julius Schrader, of Berlin, after whose picture our engraving was taken. The daughter of Jepthah, surrounded by her companions, is seated upon the mountainside, on the morning of the day when she is to return to her father, to be dealt with according to his vow. The Jewish maiden is calm but sad, and she heeds not the tears of her fellows. As the poet said:

                        “And she who was to die, the calmest one,

                        In Israel at that hour, stood up alone,

                        And waited for the sun to set.”

At the moment, the music of the harp is stilled and timbrel rests unheeded at the maiden’s feet. The group is well arranged, and its picturesqueness is increased by the skillful adaptation of the landscape accessories.

Professor Schrader was born in Berlin, and entered the school of the Royal Academy of that city, and subsequently that of Duseldorf, where in 1838 his name appears among the pupils of Hildebrandt. At the Paris International Exhibition of 1855 he showed two historical pictures, ‘The Death of Leonardo da Vinci’ and ‘Milton dictating “Paradise Lost” to his Daughter.’ The former of those works - or, if not the same one, with a similar title - appeared at the London International Exhibition of 1862, with another, ‘Lady Macbeth walking in her Sleep.’

This item is a steel engraving from the original painting by Julius Schrader called “JEPHTHAH’S DAUGHTER.”  It was engraved by S. Smith and published in 1877.  The engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 7 ½” x 9 ½”, and is matted to 11” x 14” for easy framing.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes, which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, and lithographs are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.