Roman Swords, Spearheads and Cavalry 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. Two flask shaped objects at top left each carry a round medallion with two figures and lettering. Beside them is a row of swords and daggers, one with a ram's head pommel, one with a leaf shaped blade, and one curved. Below are arrowheads and javelin heads, a spearhead with side blades, a broad leaf shaped spearhead and a pair of long spears. A statue of an archer with a bow stands on an inscribed base. Gems and a coin show a standing man with a horse, horsemen, and a rider over a fallen warrior with a shield, and there is a horse's head. The lower half is filled with four large horsemen, two bareheaded riders in cloaks, one in a helmet with a round shield and one in a plumed helmet with a sword.

The captions read "Mr Boisot" (three times), "Mr Foucault", "Mr l'A Fauvel" (twice), "Beger", "Fabretti", "La Chausse", "Maffei", "Mr Fontenu", "Bonanni", "l'A Fauvel", "Spon", "Trajan's Pillar" (three horsemen) and "Antonines Pillar". Trajan's Pillar is Trajan's Column and Antonines Pillar the column of Marcus Aurelius, both in Rome. The archer's base reads D M T.FLAVIO EXPEDITO DOCTORI SAGITTAR FLAVIA EVPHROSINE ET ATTICA FILIAE PATRI B·M. The medallions carry the words DVCE HANNIBAL and GLADIO ET VIRTVTE, and a coin reads "BOYKE". Numbers run from 1 to 25. The corners read "Page 39", "Vol. IV." and "Plate 9".

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.

The weapons and the large horsemen together make a strong upright sheet for a study.

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