KURLAND, JAKUB KETTLER (1610-1682). Bust in oval; engraving. W.P. Kilian, taken from: E.G. Happel, Historia Moderna Europae [...], ed. by M. Wagner, Ulm 1692; copper b.b., fn. bdb., slight soiling of margins; plate dimensions 176x308 mm; title at bottom: JACOBUS, Dux Curlandiae, Livoniae, Semigalliae etc; [Portrait catalog does not note].
Jacob Kettler, son of Wilhelm and Sophie Hohenzollern (daughter of Prince Albrecht Frederick Hohenzollern of Prussia), is considered the most prominent representative of the Kettler dynasty. Since he lost (along with his father, who was dethroned in 1616) his right to the throne in his youth, he traveled around Europe and only after a long struggle did he take over Kurland and Semigallia. During the Swedish Deluge, his country was occupied by the Swedes and he was imprisoned. At the Peace of Oliva in 1660, he regained his freedom and tried to rebuild his country from the devastation of war.
