Pieter van GUNST (Amsterdam 1658 or 59 - 1731ca) "Charles the First King of Great Britain" "Henrietta Maria Queen of Great Britain" Two original etchings from subjects of Antony van Dyck printed and published in London in the collection entitled " A set of Prints engraved after the most capital Paintings in the Collection of her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Russia, lately in the possession of the Earl of Norfolk, at Houghton in Norfolk ... "created by John Boydell and his nephew Josiah starting from from 1788. Beautiful specimens in the definitive version of the two masterful subjects already engraved by Gunst for a gallery of ten portraits that saw the light after 1713, printed on laid paper bearing the watermark "IHS Monogram with Cross and Flower" and literal countermark of Dupuy Auvergne , similar to Heawood 2952, typical of French paper production of the eighteenth century, with large margins beyond the imprint of the slab, with various slight traces of blooms at the bor of whites but overall in good general condition. Rare. Van Dyck's paintings were part of the prestigious collection of the Prime Minister of England and refined art connoisseur Sir Robert Walpole (1676 - 1745) and was kept in his residence in Houghton; this magnificent corpus of works of art was sold by Walpole's nephew several times between 1778 and 1779, to Empress Catherine II of Russia and is now part of the heritage of the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. Bibliography: O'Donoghue "Catalog of Engraved British Portraits preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum" London 1908 No. 48. Measurements in mm: 520ca x 333ca and 520ca x 325ca