Description
Admiranda romanarum antiquitatum ac veteris sculpturae vestigia anaglyphico opere elaborata ex marmoreis exemplaribus quae Romae adhuc extant ... 2nd edition, engraved titlepage, 2 engraved dedication leaves, with 79 other engraved plates, lacking plate 68 (with only the torn inner margin remaining), disbound, fore-edges uncut, titlepage discoloured, corners a little dogeared, oblong folio, Rome: Jacobo de Rubeis, 1693
Note: Cicognara 3607. Thirty-one plates which appeared in the first edition of c1690 were suppressed in the second and replaced by thirty-four new ones. Apart from the damaged plate mentioned above, our copy also appears to lack plates 26 and 56-57, but including the damaged plate 68, the total would otherwise be 84, suggesting the omissions are due to the re-numbering during the re-issue of the plates for this edition, rather than an absence.
The plates show sculptural reliefs on urns, vases, sarcophagi, tablets, and various monuments from almost thirty sites in Rome, including the Palazzo Barberini, the gardens of the Villa Medici and of the Vatican, the Forum of Nerva, &c. The work served as an important source book for Renaissance and later artists. Bartoli, who studied painting under Nicolas Poussin in Rome, was one of the most prolific engravers of Roman antiquities. Bellori, author of the descriptive notes, was a prominent Italian antiquarian who was appointed royal librarian by Christiana, Queen of Sweden; later the title of 'Antiquario di Roma' was conferred on him