Piranesi (Giovanni Battista) Campus Martius Antiquae Urbis, 1762.

Piranesi (Giovanni Battista) Campus Martius Antiquae Urbis, engraved title, frontispiece, dedication with 2 half-page vignettes, 2 initials, 2 tail-pieces, and 43 engraved plates, numbered I-XLVIII, with plate V on six sheets joined and folding as plates V-X, plates XII and LXVI with two subjects each, plate XLVIII with 3 subjects, the folding plate 'Scenographia machinae' by Arnold van Westerhout after Francesco Fontana included here as plate XXXI as usual, excellent impressions on thick Italian laid paper with several variant fleur-de-lis watermarks throughout, the folding plan with several careful old repairs to splitting alongside folds, some occasional spotting, mainly visible in the margins, bound in handsome contemporary calf, elaborate border and central lozenge tooled in gilt, with ornamental floral decoration, masks, and urns, spine gilt in compartments with six raised bands, g.e., a little rubbed, spine ends and corners slightly worn, large folio, 1762.

Provenance:
Private collection, Rome [sold with accompanying export license]

Literature:

cf. Hind p.85

⁂ A magnificent copy in contemporary binding, with fine impressions throughout. The centrepiece fold-out Ichnographia, or plan of the Campus Martius in Rome, stands as a spectacular example of Piranesi's genius for design and printmaking, showcasing both the artist's personal observation and archaeological research, alongside his ability for architectural imagination.