1 / 18
a drawing of a boat in the water with people in itseveral old books lined up in a row on a white surfacean old book with a black and white image of a man on a horsean old book with a drawing of a man on a horse and a woman on a horsea drawing of a large vase with figures on itan old book with a drawing of a man and a woman on a horsean open book with a drawing of egyptian figures on itan old book with a drawing of a woman sitting on a chairdrawing of a book with a drawing of a building inside of itan old book with a drawing of a city and a boat in itillustration of an open book with a drawing of a group of people in front of itan open book with a drawing of a man on a boat in front of a group of peoplean old black and white drawing of a building with a clock on itan old drawing of a building with a cross on top of itan old book with a drawing of a woman in a bowl and a cupan old book with a drawing of men dressed in roman clothinga picture of a book with drawings of vasesa black and white drawing of a woman sitting on a block
Premium Maître Paul PASTAUD

560 - MONTFAUCON (Bernard de). Antiquity Explained and Illustrated…
See original version (French)

Estimate €800 - €1,200
Sale commission
Description
MONTFAUCON (Bernard de). Antiquity Explained and Illustrated in Figures […] Paris: Delaulne, Foucault, Clousier, Nyon, Ganeau, Gosselin and Giffart, 1719–1724. 15 folio volumes in brown calfskin, with decorated ribbed spines, title labels and volume numbers (contemporary binding). Caps and corners worn, scuffed and with some skin loss. Volume I, Part One (The Gods of the Greeks and Romans): portrait of the Comte d’Estrées, 124 plates (nos. I–CXXII, including 1 unnumbered and 1 bis). A tear on the title page has been repaired. Volume I, Part Two (Heroes Who Attained Divinity): 105 plates (chapters CXXIII–CCXXIV, including 3 bis; the last of which should be in Volume I). Water stains on the lower margin. Volume II, Part One (The Worship of the Greeks and Romans): 105 plates (chapters I–CIV, including 1 bis). Extensive water stain in the lower section. Volume II, Part Two (The Religion of the Egyptians, Arabs, Syrians, Persians, Scythians, Germans, Gauls, Spaniards and Carthaginians): 91 plates (ch. CV–CXCIV, including 1 bis). Severe water stains at the corners. Volume III, Part One (Customs of Daily Life, Clothing, Furniture, Vessels, Coins, Weights, Measures, etc.): 123 plates (chapters I–CXXI, including 2 bis). Cuts at the top of the title page. Minor marginal wormholes, not serious. Volume III, Part Two (Baths, Weddings, Major and Minor Games, Ceremonies, Hunting, Fishing, the Arts, etc.): 76 plates (nos. CXXII–CXCVII). Water damage in the lower corner. Volume IV, Part One (War, carriages, main roads, bridges, aqueducts, navigation – the levies of soldiers, uniforms, depots, works, military signals and engagements, the weapons of all nations, military marches, war machines, etc.): 117 plates (nos. I–CXIII, including 4 bis). Volume IV, Part Two (Public Roads, Aqueducts, & Navigation): 43 plates (nos. CIV–CXLV; plate 144 is missing with no apparent deficiency; 2 unnumbered plates at the end). A small, more or less pronounced water stain in the corner. Volume V, Part One (Funeral Rites of the Greeks and Romans): 131 plates (nos. I–CXXXI). Faint water stains at the margins, sometimes pronounced at the lower corner. Volume V, Part Two (Funeral Rites of the Barbarian Nations, Lamps, Tortures, etc.): 73 plates (nos. CXXXII–CCIV). Small, faint water stains in the upper corner. Supplement, Volume I (The Gods of the Greeks and Romans): 103 plates (chapters I–LXXXVIII, including 15 bis). Cut at the top of the title page with no loss of text. Supplement, Volume Two (The Cults of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Gauls): 76 plates (chapters I–LXI, including 16 bis; plate 14 missing). Supplement, Volume Three, covering clothing and customs: 95 plates (chapters I–LXXXIV, including 11 bis). Water stains in the margins, particularly pronounced at the lower corner, with signs of mould in places. The title page is trimmed at the top, with no loss of text. Supplement, Volume IV, covering War, Bridges, Aqueducts, Navigation, Lighthouses and Octagonal Towers: 67 plates (nos. I–LX, including 7 bis). Plate 38 is duplicated here by mistake (in place of plate 28 and in its own place). Plate 28 is therefore missing. Water damage to the lower margin, sometimes severe. The title page is trimmed at the top, with no loss of text. Supplement, Volume V, Funerals: 75 plates (nos. I–LXXIII, including 3 bis, and plates 42–43 combined on a single double plate). Small, faint water-stain in the corner, more pronounced in places. A few marginal tears, restored. Apart from the conservation issues noted below, a RARE COMPLETE SET of the first edition comprising all 15 volumes, including the 5 supplementary volumes, containing a total of 1,405 engraved plates, some spread across two pages, depicting nearly 5,600 figures. Dom Bernard de Montfaucon (1655–1741), a Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Saint-Maur, drew upon the collections of Europe’s most important antiquities cabinets for this colossal undertaking. The publication of this vast collection of monuments and works from antiquity made a decisive contribution to the development of archaeology and the understanding of antiquities in 18th-century France and beyond. Bookplate of Baron G. de Joigny.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale MONTIGNAC – 31st BOOK SALE – Day 2 of 4 – Nos. 550 to 1084
Auction location
Auction time 08/20/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like