Roman Military and Architectural Scene – Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae
Roman Military and Architectural Scene
Engraving from Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae (Leiden, 1704–1725), edited by Johann Georg Graevius and published by Pieter van der Aa.
This elaborate composition depicts a scene of Roman military and civic life framed by architectural motifs. At left stands a figure with cap and trident, possibly Neptune or a personification of naval power, overlooking a great canopy draped across the image like a stage curtain. Beneath it, soldiers in armor and helmets assemble with drums and standards, while behind them rises a colonnaded temple adorned with laurel branches. At lower right, an inset shows a fortified structure with towers, suggesting a Roman camp or city gate.
The engraving reflects the antiquarian practice of combining archaeological fragments, monuments, and imaginative reconstructions to evoke the grandeur of Roman ritual, architecture, and military ceremony.
Leiden between 1704 and 1725
Each Plate Approx 28 x 48 cm (Full Sheet Including Margins)
The Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae formed part of the monumental Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum series compiled by Johann Georg Graevius (1632–1703) and published in Leiden between 1704 and 1725. Overseen by the Dutch publisher Pieter van der Aa, the folio volumes combined texts, inscriptions, and richly engraved illustrations of monuments and antiquities from across Italy.
Many of the plates, such as those from the Monumenta Brixiana section devoted to finds from Brescia, document Roman statues, coins, inscriptions, and architectural remains. Executed in van der Aa’s workshop, the engravings often drew on earlier antiquarian sources but were presented in a format that reflected the 18th-century revival of interest in classical antiquity.
Conceived as a comprehensive resource for scholars, the Thesaurus also became a visual library for artists and thinkers of the early Neoclassical age, preserving and disseminating the legacy of ancient Italy through both scholarship and imagery.
