Pack Horses, Camels and a Carriage from the Theodosian Pillar, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a single page plate from Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures. At the top two oxen draw a large four wheeled carriage hung with garlands and masks, with three men seated on it, women and a child beside it and a figure standing at the rear. Below, pack animals are drawn in rows. In the first row four horses carry saddlecloths, baskets and loads, each with a man beside it. The next rows show horses loaded with bundled poles, rolled packs and great round bales lashed with cords, a horse led by a man, and two men standing together. At the foot two camels carry heavy loads, one with a bundle of poles and a round bale, the other with two tall bales, with two men beside the first.

The captions read "Theodosians Pillar" under the carriage, "Trajan's Pillar", "Trajans Pillar", "Trajan's Pillar" and "Trajans Pillar" under the row of four horses, and "Theodosians Pillar" twice and "Theodosian's Pillar" five times under the lower figures. The figures are numbered 1 to 9, some numbers repeated. The corners read "Vol IV" at foot left, "Plate 42" at foot right and "Page 125" at top right.

"Trajan's Pillar" is Trajan's Column in Rome. The Theodosian pillar was the column of Theodosius in Constantinople, known from drawings. Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar; his L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures appeared in Paris in 1719, and David Humphreys' English translation was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. Volume four treats the baggage of the march among its subjects.

The rows of animals in profile give the sheet an even, orderly pattern on the wall.

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