Roman Officers from Trajan's Column and Constantine's Arch, 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 upper part shows a statue twice, numbered 1, from the back and from the front: a man in tunic and cloak. Beside it stands a large bearded figure numbered 2 in a cuirass decorated with two winged figures, with a cloak over his shoulder and one hand raised. The lower part of the sheet is given to figures from reliefs: a cloaked bearded man with raised hand (4), a group of three officers in cuirass and cloak (3), a man in cuirass and cloak holding a sheathed sword (5), three men in tunics and cloaks (6), a group of three with a spear and a cuirass (7), three cloaked men (8), and a soldier in cuirass and cloak pointing, with his hand on a large oval shield (9).

The captions are engraved beneath the figures: "Montfaucon" under each view of figure 1, "Raccolta Maffei" under figure 2, "Trajan's Pillar" under figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, and "Constantines Arch" under figure 9; groups 7 and 8 carry no caption. Trajan's Pillar is Trajan's Column in Rome, and Constantine's Arch the Arch of Constantine in Rome. The figure numbers run from 1 to 9. The corners read "Page 13" at top right, "Vol. IV." at foot left and "Plate 2" at foot right. No engraver's signature appears.

Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained is the English translation by David Humphreys of L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures, published in Paris in 1719 by Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741), a French Benedictine monk and scholar. Its fourth volume is given to war. Each figure is copied from a monument, coin, gem or earlier antiquarian book, with its source engraved beside it.

The many small groups make a sheet that rewards close viewing, framed at eye level.

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