Colonna Traiana

BARTOLI, Pietro (1615-1700). Colonna Traiana, eretta dal senato, e popolo romano all'imperatore Traiano Augusto nell suo foro in Roma. Rome: Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi, [n.d., c.1673].
First edition of Bartoli's artistic record of Trajan's Column. The monumental 30-meter spiral bas relief of Trajan's Column depicts the Roman campaigns against the Dacians in the reign of the Emperor Trajan. Difficult to see in-situ, Bartoli's engravings of the frieze allow for close examination of this ancient graphic narrative, including the famous and mysterious scene of Dacian women torturing Roman soldiers. Trained as an artist under Le Maire and Poussin, Bartoli got his start by copying the most famous artworks of antiquity—a practice which quickly developed into full-blown antiquarianism. This copy contains the engravings only, without the short explanatory text. Berlin Katalog 3622; Cicognara 3603.
Oblong folio (374 x 488mm). Title page, engraved dedication, 7 unnumbered plates and 118 numbered plates depicting the continuous frieze of the column (lacking text leaves and plate 105). 19th-century boards with printed paper label (rebacked, wear to edges with losses to corners). Provenance: Royal College of Art ("Government School of Design" stamped in bottom margins of many leaves outside the plate mark).