Roman Female Deities, Coins and Antiquities – Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae
Roman Deities, Coins, and Inscriptions
Engraving from Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae (Leiden, 1704–1725), edited by Johann Georg Graevius and published by Pieter van der Aa.
This plate assembles a variety of Roman antiquities, from statuary to numismatic motifs. At the top, two female deities are shown: one crowned with a crescent moon, likely Luna or Diana, and another crowned with stars, holding a scepter and cornucopia, representing Astraea or a celestial Fortuna. To the left, a column of coins depicts imperial portraits and symbolic types, including a chariot marked ROMA.
Below is a cylindrical altar or cinerary urn decorated with portrait busts, an example of Roman funerary art. To the right stands a draped statue inscribed to M. Nonnius Senecianus, from Bergamo (Bergimo), linking the piece to finds from northern Italy.
The plate reflects the antiquarian approach of juxtaposing Roman coins, inscriptions, and sculptures to highlight the variety of divine, civic, and funerary imagery preserved in Italy’s archaeological record.
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.
Sheet with margins.
