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Framed and on the wall
Frame and rooms are illustrations of how the piece could look; it is sold unframed unless the description says otherwise.
Romans and Barbarians Fighting at a Palisade, Montfaucon Engraving, 1722
£315
$420 · €375
Original print, not a reproduction.
Ships worldwide from the Netherlands, flat or rolled, insured and tracked. 14-day returns.
- Date
- 1722
- Technique
- Copper Engraving
- Coloring
- Uncolored
- Condition
- Good. Light handling wear to the bottom right corner; a small irregularity of a few millimeters to the bottom edge. Light toning. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin. Folding plate with the original center fold.
- Collection
- Battle scenes
- Era
- 1700 to 1789, Wars of the line
- Stock no.
- BG-14184-4-19
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.
This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate from Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. Two broad numbered battle scenes fill the sheet. In the upper scene soldiers in segmented armor with curved rectangular shields stand at the left while helmeted soldiers close with bearded men in cloaks who carry curved blades and ornamented oval shields; trees, a timber gate and palisade at the upper right, and kneeling and fallen men fill the ground. In the lower scene archers in pointed helmets draw bows at the upper left and soldiers press forward behind oval shields marked with crescents and stars, one man carrying stones in a fold of his cloak; at the right, men with curved blades defend a timber palisade, heads showing above it, and many lie fallen on the ground.
This sheet carries no source captions. The two scenes are numbered 1 and 2. The corners are lettered "Page 68" at top right, "Vol IV" at foot left and "Plate 20" at foot right; the engraved plate number is 20.
Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar. His L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures appeared in Paris in 1719, and this English translation by David Humphreys, Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. Volume four deals with war, and this plate belongs to its sequence on battle. Montfaucon drew together figures copied from ancient monuments and the publications of earlier antiquaries, and where he named a source he engraved it beside the figure.
The dense, crowded figures carry well at a distance and suit a long wall.
Condition: Light handling wear to the bottom right corner; a small irregularity of a few millimeters to the bottom edge. Light toning. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin. Folding plate with the original center fold.
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.
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