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drawing of a ruined building with a man standing in front of itdrawing of a view of a roman city with a horse drawn carriageillustration of the colossion of the colossion of the colossion of the colossion of the colossion of the colossiondrawing of a view of the ruins of the roman city of volteria
ALDE

58 - PIRANESI (Giovanni Battista). Vedute di Roma.
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Estimate €50,000 - €60,000
Sale commission
Description
PIRANESI (Giovanni Battista). Vedute di Roma. Rome, published by the author, undated [circa 1760–1778]. 2 large folio volumes mounted on tabs, fawn calfskin, gilt Greek ornamentation, decorated spine, gilt edges, violet cloth slipcases (contemporary binding). An exceptional series of Piranesi’s views of Rome, printed in Rome by the artist himself in the 1760s and 1770s. It comprises 134 double-page plates drawn and etched by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778), including the engraved title page and frontispiece. The series is complete with all the views engraved by Piranesi. However, it does not include the map of Rome, nor the two views engraved by Francesco Piranesi after his father’s death, which are generally absent from copies compiled at the time. These are fine prints, with good contrast, on high-quality laid paper. Some bear the watermark of a fleur-de-lis within a double circle surmounted by a heart (Hind 2–3; Robison 33–39), or a fleur-de-lis within a single circle, or, in at least one case, the heraldic watermark Robison 61. Most of the views bear the artist’s address and price. The 134 views in the ‘Vedute di Roma’ series were composed separately by Piranesi from the late 1740s (around 1748) until his death thirty years later. With the *Vedute di Roma*, ‘which were disseminated throughout the continent as a result of the Grand Tour, Piranesi was to not only revolutionise the conventional form of the veduta, but also transform Europe’s perception of classical antiquity ’ (Wilton-Ely, I, 176). From the libraries of James Franck Bright (1832–1920), with bookplate, and Frank Bensow (1883–1969), with bookplate. This copy was exhibited as part of the Bensow collection at the Norrköping Museum in Sweden in 1961 (cat. *Grafik ur Frank Bensows Samling*, no. 57). Bindings restored, spines re-made, endpapers replaced, a few scattered foxing spots. The spines and modern slipcases are titled *Le Antichità di Roma*; the volume numbering is reversed. Focillon, 719–823 – Hind, 1–135 – Wilton-Ely, 134–268.
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About the sale Antique books – Alchemy & the occult sciences
Auction location
Auction time 11/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
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ALDE
See original version (French)
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