The Roman Testudo, Shield Roof Formations, Montfaucon Engraving, 1722
€ 295
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1722
Mapmaker / artist
Not named on the sheet
Publisher
J. Tonson and J. Watts, London
Technique
Copper Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14184-4-30
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Complete sheet, edges straight and without nicks. Light, uneven toning, soiled along the bottom and top edges. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin. A few small light flecks in the printed area.
About this sheet
This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a single page upright plate on the tortoise formation, shown in four numbered figures. In the upper relief two groups of soldiers hold their tall decorated shields over their heads in rows against a wall, while defenders on the wall raise stones and weapons above them and horsemen with spears ride in from the left. In the large middle relief soldiers advance under a curved roof of locked shields toward a wall, defenders with round shields crowd the top, and fallen men lie in the foreground. At the lower left two shield roofed groups move along a brick wall with defenders above. At the lower right, in open country, a great ring of soldiers is closed under a continuous roof of shields, and horsemen and a two horse chariot drive across the top of the shield roof itself, with a crowd of soldiers and a second chariot beyond.
No source captions are engraved on this plate. The figures carry small numbers from 1 to 4. The corners are lettered "Voll IV" at foot left, "Plate 30" at foot right and "Page 90" at top right.
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. The English translation by David Humphreys, Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722, and this plate belongs to its fourth volume. Volume four deals with war, and this plate belongs to its account of the siege. Montfaucon drew together figures copied from ancient monuments, coins, gems and the publications of earlier antiquaries, and engraved the name of each source beside its figure.
The repeated shields give the upright sheet a strong pattern when framed.
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.
