Roman Legionaries, Helmets and Gems from Trajan's Column, Montfaucon, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a single page plate from the fourth volume of Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained, printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. The top row shows soldiers from reliefs: a soldier in helmet and cloak with a sword and oval shield, two legionaries in plate armor with curved rectangular shields, a standard bearer and a horn player, both with animal skins over their heads, and two soldiers with spears and shields, one in scale armor. Below are soldiers with shields, one crouching behind a round shield, a man carrying a spear, and a large bearded soldier in crested helmet and cuirass with a great oval shield and spear. The lower part gathers statues of youths and soldiers, a helmeted bust on a pedestal, and engraved gems, the largest a bearded head in a helmet beside a shield.

The source captions read "Trajan Pillar" (four times), "Anthonys Pillar", "Severns's Arch", "Constantine's Arch", "Theodosius's Arch", "Admiranda Rom", "Cab du P Albert", "Mr de Moulour", "Beger", "Bonanni" (twice), "Narbonne" and "La Chausse". Trajan Pillar is Trajan's Column in Rome, Anthonys Pillar the Antonine column of Marcus Aurelius, Severns's Arch the Arch of Severus (Septimius Severus) and Constantine's Arch the Arch of Constantine, all in Rome. The figure numbers run from 1 to 18. The corners read "Page 14", "Voll. IV." and "Plate 3".

Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741), a French Benedictine monk and scholar, published L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures in Paris in 1719; David Humphreys translated it into English. The fourth volume treats war, the arms and dress of soldiers among its first subjects. Montfaucon gathered figures from monuments, coins, gems and earlier antiquaries and engraved each source's name beside its figure.

A dense, varied sheet that holds up to close study.

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