Roman Emperor Statues and the Prefect Probus with His Wife, Lithograph, 1842

This is an original antique lithograph, uncolored from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842), printed in black and gray. The upper image shows two marble statues on round bases. The figure at the left raises a baton in his right hand and holds a globe in his left, his chest bare under shoulder straps and a cloak draped about his hips; the figure at the right wears a decorated cuirass with hanging straps and a long cloak, his right arm broken off at the elbow. The lower image is drawn in outline: a veiled woman in a long belted gown and necklace raises one hand to her face while clasping the hand of a young man in a tunic and toga, the two standing on a plain ground line.

The top margin is lettered "Tom. IV" at the left, "ITALIA" in the center and "Tav. 46" at the right. The caption under the upper image reads "Imperatori" (emperors) and the caption under the lower image reads "Probo prefetto del pretorio e la di Lui Sposa" (Probus, praetorian prefect, and his wife).

The praetorian prefect was one of the highest offices of the Roman empire, first as commander of the emperor's guard and later as a senior civil administrator. The clasped right hands of a husband and wife were a common Roman image of marriage.

The contrast between the shaded statues and the fine outline drawing below gives this uncolored plate a clean, classical look.

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