WITCHES’ SABBATH, PAIR OF ENGRAVINGS, 1755

Extremely rare pair of engravings devoted to witchcraft dated 1755, executed by Jean-Jacques Aliamet after David Teniers the Younger. The nocturnal demonological scenes engraved after Teniers rank among the engraver’s most sought-after subjects and appear only exceptionally on the market. Complete impressions, preserved as a pair, with full margins and in such freshness, are of remarkable rarity.

– Departure for the Sabbath / Preparation for the Witches’ Sabbath

Departure for the Sabbath, the scene unfolds in a nocturnal interior saturated with occult symbols. An old witch sits before a table cluttered with vials, a mortar, potions, and candles, preparing an infernal mixture under the gaze of hideous demons surrounding her. In the darkness, winged creatures—monstrous bats, flying spirits—cross the space. To the right appears the hindquarters of a demon climbing up the chimney, a striking detail that reinforces the supernatural dimension of the scene and suggests the ceaseless activity of the infernal world.
In the background, a second witch pushes toward the chimney a nude woman holding a broom slipped between her legs, an explicit symbol of “magical flight” and a traditional attribute of witches departing for the sabbath. The ground in the foreground is particularly laden with meaning: a human skull, ritual tools, consumed candles, and various objects rest upon a pentagram drawn on the floor, a magical figure of invocation or protection linked to demonological practices. Swirls of smoke rise from bowls and flames, heightening the atmosphere of enchantment and this transition between the material world and the infernal sphere.
The whole composes a preparatory ritual of great intensity, a true antechamber to the sabbath.

Departure for the Sabbath. Engraved after the original painting by D. Teniers from the cabinet of the Count of Vence.
D. Teniers pinx. – J. Aliamet sculp.

– Arrival at the Sabbath / Demons and Witches Arrive at the Sabbath

Arrival at the Sabbath, the scene opens onto a nocturnal landscape where the witch advances brandishing a torch, illuminating the heterogeneous group of demons and fantastic creatures accompanying her. The flickering light reveals crouching imps, hybrid animals, and demonic silhouettes emerging from the ground or crawling in the shadows. In the sky, several winged figures—bats and spirits—cross the night beneath a crescent moon.
On the ground, a lantern lights a small spectral being, and to the right a bent woman digs or exhumes something, an ambiguous and deeply symbolic gesture evoking an act of invocation or exhumation, practices often associated in popular imagination with the sabbath and nocturnal rites. The whole, animated by movements, gazes, and smoke, forms a striking demonological procession marking the arrival of witches and spirits at the site of the infernal gathering.

Arrival at the Sabbath. Engraved after the original painting by D. Teniers. From the cabinet of the Count of Vence.
D. Teniers pinx. – J. Aliamet sculp.

These two engravings, admirably detailed, concentrate the entire imagery of 18th-century witchcraft: nocturnal rituals, infernal creatures, magical symbols, ritual nudity, pentagrams, smoke, possession, and the constant link between the earthly world and the supernatural realm. Their reunion as a complete pair, with full margins and in original condition, is all the more remarkable given that this series appears only very rarely in complete form and in such quality of impression.

A comparable example at the British Museum – but incomplete

Another pair of these engravings is preserved at the British Museum, London, but one of the two is trimmed, the entire lower section missing.
The two present impressions, by contrast, are complete, with full margins, which further enhances their interest and rarity.

Arrival at the Sabbath / British Museum

Departure for the Sabbath / British Museum

Impression of remarkable finesse, with the plate mark clearly visible all around, characteristic sign of an original 18th-century impression printed on a hand press.
The antique laid paper, supple, luminous, and of beautiful texture, fully confirms the 18th-century authenticity.

The versos retain several old restorations, typical of 18th- and early 19th-century mountings: handwritten reinforcements, old holding strips, small edge repairs. These traces of use do not affect the reading of the image and even contribute to the historical character of the ensemble.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSION : 41 cm X 33 cm
SIZE : 16.2" X 13"