Roman Army Assembled Before Its Commanders with Standards, Montfaucon, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate from Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. It shows Roman soldiers gathered before their commanders in three numbered scenes. In the long upper band four men in cuirasses and cloaks stand on a high brick platform at the left, two of them clasping hands. Before them rise an eagle standard and three standards hung with discs and medallions, and a mass of soldiers in segmented armor and crested helmets, with curved rectangular shields, faces the platform; two horses stand at the right, one ridden by a man with an oval shield decorated with stars. In the lower left scene men in cuirasses stand on a raised ledge beside standards while soldiers below, seen from behind, carry oval and round shields. In the lower right scene men in cuirasses and cloaks clasp hands on a brick platform beside soldiers with tall rectangular shields.

This sheet carries no source captions. The three figures are numbered 1 to 3. The corners are lettered "Page 66" at top right, "Vol IV" at foot left and "Plate 16" at foot right.

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; this English translation by David Humphreys, Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. The fourth volume is devoted to war, and this sheet illustrates the camp and the soldiers gathered before their officers. Montfaucon brought together figures copied from ancient monuments and lettered the source beside them.

The upright standards and the ranks of shields give the sheet a strong rhythm across its width.

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