Self-portrait.

Etching, 21,6 x 18,9 cm, laid paper with unidentified watermark, signed and dated in oval: "SUM PHILIPPI DE MEL BRUGENSIS. I.V.L. AETA: XXVII. M.DC.LV. ET FECI." (1 spot, 1 sm. glue spot).

Good impression with wide margins. Good condition. Extremely rare.

Bust portrait in an oval with an angel and a lion with a coat of arms on both sides. Below several mythological figures and a view on a port. Philippe de Mel (1638-1685) was an alderman of Bruges. This curious print shows he was also an amateur printmaker. The Latin inscription reads: "I am Philippe de Mel from Bruges, licentiatus of both laws, 27 years old in 1655 and I made this." De Mel probably only produced a few impressions for his close circle. His output is not described in any reference work and appears not to be in any print collection (such as Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, London, Paris, New York).
Ref. Not in Hollstein. - J. Gailliard, Bruges et le Franc ou leur magistrature et leur noblesse, avec des données historiques et généalogiques sur chaque famille, Bruges 1858, II, p. 76.
Prov. Joseph Kockx, late 19th-early 20th-c. auction house in Antwerp (ms. note).