VETERES ARCUS AUGUSTORUM TRIUMPHIS INSIGNES EX RELIQUIIS QUAE ROMAE ADHUC SUPERSUNT CUM IMAGINIBUS TRIUMPHALIBUS RESTITUTI

Rome: Buagni, 1690. 492 x 310 mm. (19 1/4 x 12 1/4"). [6] leaves of text numbered in sequence with the plates; i.e,. title page, frontispiece, To the Reader, plates 3-15, text leaves 16-19, plates 20-52.
Modern quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands, spine panels with gilt starburst centerpiece. With allegorical frontispiece featuring a portrait of the dedicatee (Cardinal Otthobono) and 46 FINELY ENGRAVED COPPERPLATES OF ROMAN ARCHES, half of these double-page, all mounted on stubs. Cicognara 3608; Brunet I, 758 and VI, 29473. ◆Slight signs of use to the covers, first and last three leaves faintly foxed, one- to two-inch light dampstain to bottom corners (far from images or text), other trivial imperfections, but A FINE COPY--internally clean, fresh, and bright, with excellent impressions of the engravings, and in a pleasing binding showing virtually no wear.

This work depicting the triumphal arches of imperial Rome is considered by Cicognara to be "the most beautiful of this genre, and classic especially for the magnificence and elegance of the prints, which are the masterpiece of Pietro Bartoli." Bartoli (1635-1700) was an antiquary as well as an engraver; he produced engravings of many Roman antiquities and helped to excavate Nero's Domus Aurea, the sprawling complex built by the emperor in the middle of Rome after the fire in 64 A.D. had destroyed much of the city. Bellori (1613-96) was an author and antiquarian who served as curator of antiquities for Pope Clement X. He was later librarian and antiquary to Queen Christina of Sweden, who also employed Bartoli. Bartoli's illustrations show the Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus, and the Arch of Septimus Severus, examining the details of each. J. M. Suarez wrote the text discussing the Arch of Septimus Severus. The vastness of the present volume, the very considerable detail of the plates, and the richness of the engravings make this a very impressive book..