MALTA set of 4 views – 1784 – in Maltese frames

Description

SAINT-NON – 1784 – set of 4 views – ready in Maltese mahogany frames

Author: Jean Claude Richard Abbé de Saint-Non

Title: Voyage Pittoresque

Place: Paris

Year: 1784

area Depicted: 4 views and birds-eye-view of the Harbour with text at bottom of engraving.

View 1 : The view shows the entrance to Grand harbour with valletta on the right and St. Angelo on the left.

View 2 : This view shows Grand harbour crowded with shipping. To the right, the Upper barracca is without its roof (removed c 1775), and the quarantine barriers are clearly visible.

View 3 : This view is taken from the French Curtain near St. Elmo. In the foreground two Knights of St. John greet two priests. Behind is Marsamxett Harbour and Manoel Island. The Chapel od St. Anthony od padua is clearly visible in the centre of the fort.

View 4 : This view shows the area of valletta around the Neptune Fountain. The Fountain was erected by Grand master Alof de wignacourt in 1617 to mark the concusion of his great aqueduct. The statue of neptune (by Gafa, after Giovanni da bologna) was removed during the Governorship of Sir Gaspard le merchant (1858-65), and is now in the courtyard of the Grand master’s palace. Behind the Fountain, on the other side of grand Harbour, the towns of Vittoriosa and Senglea can be seen. The view is enlivened by a busy market scene with stallholders.