Bernard de Montfaucon, Arch of Constantine in Full Elevation with Six Small Arches, 1722, Engraving

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This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate from montfaucon's antiquity explained, and represented in … Read more This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate from montfaucon's antiquity explained, and represented in sculptures. A great arch with three openings fills the center of the sheet, drawn in elevation with its detached columns on carved pedestals. On the attic stand four draped standing figures, between them relief panels crowded with soldiers and standards, and at the center a panel of lettering. Pairs of roundels sit above the side arches, showing horsemen with hounds, standing figures with a horse, and groups at an altar beneath a statue, a narrow frieze runs below them, and winged figures fill the spandrels of the central arch. Down each side of the sheet are three smaller arches drawn in outline, each crowned with sculpture: chariot groups, horsemen and trophies of arms. There are no source captions on this plate. The attic panel is lettered imp. Caes. Fl. Constantino maximo p. F. Avgvsto s.p.q.r. Qvod instinctv divinitatis mentis magnitvdine cvm exercitv svo tam de tyranno qvam de omni eivs factione vno tempore ivstis rempvblicam vltvs est armis arcvm trivmphis insignem dicavit, and above the left side arch are the words sic and x. The arch is numbered 1 and the six small arches 2 or 3, seven numbers in all. The corners read "vol iv" at foot left, "plate 37" at foot right and "page 108" at top right. The arch named in the inscription, for constantine, is the arch of constantine in rome. Bernard de montfaucon (1655 to 1741) was a french benedictine monk and scholar whose l'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures appeared in paris in 1719. This english translation by david humphreys was printed in london by j. Tonson and j. Watts in 1722. Volume four deals with war, and this sheet belongs to its section on triumphs, triumphal arches and columns. The large symmetrical elevation reads well across a room and suits a wide wall. Condition: complete sheet, minor nicks along the right edge. Light, uneven toning, soiled along the bottom and top edges. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin. Folding plate with the original center fold. This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed. See less