Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Statue of Mithras.
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Maker
(publisher)
1512-1577
1512-1577
Title
Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Statue of Mithras.
Date of Production
1564
Medium
medium : material : ink & support : material : paper
Dimensions
Height: 41.3 cm
Width: 26.4 cm
Width: 26.4 cm
Object Number
B.1978.PG.102.74
Mode of Acquisition
Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978
Credit
Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Location
Not currently on display
Label Text
The Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (‘Mirror of Roman Magnificence’), one of the most celebrated print collections of the Renaissance, is unique in that no two known examples are alike. Antoine Lafréry, a French publisher based in Rome, kept a large stock of prints depicting Roman antiquities, sculptures and contemporary architecture, from which clients could make a selection according to their individual interests. The volume was then bound with a standard frontispiece.
Inscriptions
Inscription: 89
Inscription: Hac uetusta marmorea tabula, quae Romae in aedibus Octaviani Zeno prope theatrum Pompeii I campum Florae extat, hisce signis ornata, ueteres /rerum naturalium periti optimi agricolae munus significare uolerunt. Qui assiduo labore, die noctuque, tribus solis, quattuor lunae stationibus, et / naturali utrusque sideris cursu obseruatis, fortitudine, prouidentia, fide, et diligentia, terram fatigando rem agranam tractat et proinde / carum frugum quae lucis I tenebrarum tempore creantur, oriuntur, excolunturque uberrimum pioventum fert.
Inscription: Antonij Lafrerij Sequani formeis Anno. DLxiiij
Inscription: Hac uetusta marmorea tabula, quae Romae in aedibus Octaviani Zeno prope theatrum Pompeii I campum Florae extat, hisce signis ornata, ueteres /rerum naturalium periti optimi agricolae munus significare uolerunt. Qui assiduo labore, die noctuque, tribus solis, quattuor lunae stationibus, et / naturali utrusque sideris cursu obseruatis, fortitudine, prouidentia, fide, et diligentia, terram fatigando rem agranam tractat et proinde / carum frugum quae lucis I tenebrarum tempore creantur, oriuntur, excolunturque uberrimum pioventum fert.
Inscription: Antonij Lafrerij Sequani formeis Anno. DLxiiij
Provenance
Information not yet known or updated
Literature
Zorach, Rebecca, The Virtual Tourist in Renaissance Rome: printing and collecting the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, Chicago 2008
Parshall, Peter, 'Antonio Lafreri's Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' in 'Print Quarterly', 2006 - pp. 3-28; XXIII (I)
Huelsen, Christian, 'Das Speculum Magnificentiae des Antonio Lafreri' in Collectanea Variae Doctrinae, Florence 1921 - pp.121-170
cat.66.A (1)
Fig. p. 156
cat.66.A (1)
Fig. p. 156
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