Arch of Titus Reliefs, Triumphal Chariot and Seven Branched Candlestick, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate given to two large processional reliefs. In the upper relief a chariot drawn by four horses moves to the left; the figure standing in it holds a staff and is crowned from behind by a winged Victory. A helmeted female figure walks beside the horses, and men in tunics and togas surround the chariot, with bundled rods carried on poles above their heads. In the lower relief men crowned with wreaths carry spoils on poles across their shoulders: a large seven branched candlestick on a stepped base, a table with two long trumpets, and placards raised above the crowd. At the right the procession reaches an arched gateway.

The caption between the two reliefs reads "Titus's Arch", that is, the Arch of Titus in Rome. The figure numbers 1, at the head of the upper relief, and 2, beside the caption, mark the two reliefs. The corners are lettered "Vol IV" at foot left and "Plate 32" at foot right; the top right reads "Page 10" with the last digit hidden under the border.

Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar whose L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures appeared in Paris in 1719. The English translation by David Humphreys, Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722, and this plate belongs to its fourth volume. Volume four deals with war, including triumphs, trophies and triumphal arches. Montfaucon drew together figures copied from ancient monuments, coins, gems and the publications of earlier antiquaries, and engraved the name of each source beside its figure.

The two large reliefs fill the sheet and need a wall of some width.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.