Roman Sacrificial Procession with Bulls and Axe Bearers, Montfaucon, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate with three bands of processional relief. In the upper band a young bull is led by an attendant, men in togas walk beside it, and four bearers carry a litter on poles with a bearded reclining figure lying on it; an attendant with a jug walks at the right. In the middle band two bare chested attendants with axes over their shoulders lead two bulls covered with long fringed cloths, and between them walk togate men and a man with a box under his arm. In the lower band an attendant with an axe leads a bull under a cloth decorated with leaves, followed by men carrying round and oval shields and a man in a toga.

No source captions are engraved on this plate. The figure numbers 1, at the head of the upper band, and 2, at its foot, are engraved on the sheet. The corners are lettered "Vol·IV." at foot left and "Plate 33" at foot right; the page number at top right is not legible.

The plate comes from the fourth volume of Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, the English translation by David Humphreys of the work of Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741), a French Benedictine monk and scholar. His L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures appeared in Paris in 1719, and this edition was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. Volume four deals with war, including the triumph and its ceremonies. Montfaucon drew together figures copied from ancient monuments, coins, gems and the publications of earlier antiquaries, and engraved the name of each source beside its figure.

The long frieze format suits a place above a sofa or a sideboard.

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