Roman Camp Towers, Huts and Officers on a Tribunal, Trajan's Column, 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. The sheet is built from seven numbered figures. Along the top left run small block huts inside round palisades, a stack of logs, two conical stacks and a square tower with a balcony and a torch projecting from it; at top right three gabled buildings stand inside a palisade. The large central scene shows men in cuirasses seated on a high brick platform with cloaked men standing behind them and an officer standing below at the left, while at the right attendants lead horses with fringed saddle cloths beside two banner standards. Below, two towers with torches stand between soldiers with round shields, a crowd of soldiers with shields and standards gathers before a man who points, and men stand on a brick platform beside a group of standard bearers.

Five figures are captioned "Trajan's Pillar" and the lower left one "Trajans Pillar", without the apostrophe; the captions refer to Trajan's Column in Rome. The figure numbers run from 1 to 7. The corners read "Page 64" at top right, "Vol IV." at foot left and "Plate 15" 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 many small scenes reward close looking and suit a study or library wall.

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