17th Century Hand-Colored Engraving of Scenes of Roman Life by Pietro Bartoli

A large, nicely-framed Italian hand-colored engraving in tones of terracotta and black (17th century, with more recent matte and frame) by Pietro Bartoli. The engraving depicts the mosaic ceiling in the church of Santa Costanza outside of Rome, which was studied by the ecclesiatical archaeologist Giovanni Ciampini. The mosaic ceiling no longer exists, but is known through various depictions of the artwork, such as this engraving. The images include Christian imagery including the sacrifice of Cain and Abel and possibly Noah building the ark. The upper row of mosaics is believed to represent scenes from the New Testament, with caryatids dividing the ceiling into twelve segments. The engraving is captioned in Latin: "Opus Musiuum olim in tholo Templi, quod vulgo creditur Bacchi, nunc Sancte Constantie extra Portam Piam cariatides, et Telamones in duodecium dividant Segmenta, ubi plura autumnales ferias, et piscationis Genium demostrant, iuxta interpretionem Ciampini qui mediatatem exhibet Veterum monum." In the 17th century, the church of Santa Costanza was known as the "Temple of Bacchus," and was the site of rowdy Bacchic festivals until Pope Clement XI banned the rites in 1720. Pietro Santo...

Two French matted and framed 18th century black and white engravings inspired by Classical Antiquity. The first frame contains an engraving of a woman patting a unicorn, and a man an...

Venetian School painting of four angels, allegorically depicting the variable winds of change and time. Unsigned, believed to be by a follower of Pietro Li...

French engraving in a 19th century entitled "Le Premier Pas A La Fortune" on hand-laid paper with a decorative giltwood frame. A charming double-entendre scene of seduction. Du Bois ...

Set of six Paris porcelain scalloped plates with hand-painted scenes of birds and animals set in fanciful or pastoral environments, some with castles....

A pair of very finely-chased French brass candlesticks, circa 1870 in the neoclassical style (could be electrified as table lamps). Bases are decorated with rose vines.

17th century pair of engravings by Carlo Cesio, (Italian 1626-1686) depicting painting by Annibale Carracci.

17th century pair of engravings by Carlo Cesio, (Italian 1626-1686) depicting paintings by Annibale Carracci.

This is a framed hand-colored 17th century map of Northern Scotland by Gerard Mercator entitled "Scotiae pars Septentrionalis", published in Amsterdam in 1636. It is a highly detailed map of the northern part of Scotland, with the northwest Highlands and the cities Inverness and Aberdeen, as well as the Orkney Islands and the Hebrides. There is a decorative title cartouche in the upper left corner. The map is presented in an antiqued brown wood...

This original hand-colored copperplate engraved map of Africa entitled "Africa Vetus, Nicolai Sanson Christianiss Galliar Regis Geographi" was originally created by Nicholas Sanson d...

An 18th century hand-colored map of Africa entitled "Africae Accurata Tabula ex officina" by Nicolaes Visscher, published in Amsterdam in 1680. This beautiful, colorful and detailed map is embellished by eleven sailing ships, a whale, flying fish and multiple land animals. It includes the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent portions of Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. The map perpetuates several long-standing errors, including the origin of the Nile River from two imaginary lakes in southern Africa, which are shown adjacent to the imaginary Lunae Montes (Mountains of the Moon...

A 17th century hand-colored map entitled "Guineae Nova Descriptio" by Gerard Mercator and Jodocus Hondius, published in their 'Atlas Minor' in Amsterdam in 1635. It is focused on the...