Roman Columns and Six Triumphal Arches with Coins, Montfaucon, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a single page plate from Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures. Across the upper half stand four tall monuments. At the left is a column wound with a spiral band of small figures, on a carved base with a door, topped by a statue holding an orb and a spear. Next is a tapering shaft hung with arms and implements: arrows, axes, a cup, rolls, a head and torches. Third is a second spiral column on a lettered pedestal, with a draped statue on top. At the right is a column set with ship prows in three tiers, crowned by a soldier in helmet and armor with a spear. Three coins sit between them. The lower half shows six triumphal arches in elevation, crowned with chariot groups, elephants, horses, soldiers and winged figures.

The source captions read "Bartoli" under the first column, "Thiroux" under the shaft and "Bartoli" under the second column; the column with prows has no caption. The pedestal is lettered at the top SIXTVS V PONT MAX. One coin reads L.BIBVLVS.M.F.PRAE with the letters ΔΣ, and the attic of one arch is lettered I O M. Small figure numbers 1 to 9 are engraved beside the figures, 8 used twice, ten numbers in all. The corners read "Vol IV" at foot left, "Plate 38" at foot right and "Page 109" at top 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, and this English translation by David Humphreys was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. Volume four deals with war, and this sheet belongs to its section on triumphal arches, columns and trophies. Montfaucon gathered figures from monuments, coins and earlier antiquaries, and engraved the name of each source beside its figure.

The tall format suits a narrow wall or a pair with another architectural plate.

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