Sir William Hamilton engraving of Dionysus, Maenad and Hermes ~ 18th Century

Description: Sir William Hamilton (1719-1805) and Pierre-Francois Hughes d'Hancarville (1719-1805)Plate 84, Dionysus, Maenad and Hermes copper plate engraving in original colour from the second volume of William Hamilton’s “Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of The Honble. W. Hamilton”, published in Naples in 1767 pictured in Taschen's book, "The Complete Collection of Antiquities from thee Cabinet of Sir William Hamilton" on page 242-243, Volume II, plate 84: "Attic black figured Hydria; Left: Dionysus stepping. into (?) a quadriga. Maenad and two satyrs. Right: Dionysian procession with Dionysus (centre) and Hermes (right) Florence, Museo Archeologico 3866 visible image measures approximately: 25 7/8" W x 11 3/8" Hframe measures approximately: 39 1/2" W x 25 1/8" H About Sir William Hamilton Sir William Hamilton was the British ambassador to Naples at the Bourbon Court of King Ferdinand IV during the city's golden age, from 1764 to 1800. Hamilton and his first wife, Catherine, established themselves as leaders of the fashionable and international community based in Naples and their home at the Palazzo Sessa became an essential destination for those embarking upon the Grand Tour. An avid antiquarian, Hamilton assembled one of the world's finest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. The core of his collection was bought en bloc from the Porcinari family, after an introduction by art dealer Hugues d'Hancarville. Hamilton added several more choice items before selling his first collection to the British Museum in 1772 for £8400, where it became one of main collections in the department of Greek and Roman antiquities. Before the collection was shipped to England, Hamilton arranged for Hugues d'Hancarville to oversee the cataloguing and drawing of 312 vases in the collection. The published work is a triumphant example of graphic art and book production of the highest order. Published by subscription, Hamilton largely financed the publication himself. "While the frontispiece of the first volume bears the date 1766 and those of the third and fourth volumes the date 1767, the actual appearance of the work was long delayed. Under d'Hancarville's direction, draughtsmen, etchers, and printers at first worked on the execution of the large-format plates, along with the unusually elaborate initials and vignettes often based on Piranesi originals. The artists included the draughtsmen Edmondo Beaulieu, Giovanni Battista Tierce and Giuseppe Bracci, and the engravers Filippo de Grado, Carlo Nolli, Tommaso Piroli, Antoine Alexandre Joseph Cardon, Antonio Lamberti and Carmine Pignatari. A leading role was played by Giuseppe Bracci who evidently developed a new printing process specifically for the plates. The first volume would be published at the end of 1767, with the second volume following in 1769. D'Hancarville's financial problems led him to forfeit the finished plates for the final volumes to Florentine creditors in 1773; Hamilton's intervention and additional funding led to the final two volumes to be published in 1776. An elaborate and expensive production, volumes one and two were limited to 500 copies, and only 100 copies of volumes three and four were published. The arrival of these vases in England and the publication of Hamilton’s lavish work in 1767 heightened public interest in the design of classical vases and led to a huge increase in the popularity of this style, best exemplified by the pottery of Josiah Wedgwood. The costs involved in the publication of Hamilton’s magnificent work were huge and as a consequence only the very wealthy could afford the volumes. The publication left Hamilton £6000 in debt. To recoup some of his losses Hamilton produced a second series of plates and published these between 1791 and 1795. Many of the vases in this second collection were sadly lost at sea on their way back to London when the Colossus sank off the Scilly Isles. Hamilton died in 1803 with his last few years plagued by a hasty retreat from Naples under the threat of invasion by Napoleon and the public humiliation of having to face up to the very open affair between his vivacious second wife, Emma, and the hero of the day, Admiral Horatio Nelson. S1.

Price: 2400 USD

Location: Chicago, Illinois

End Time: 2024-12-17T19:31:30.000Z

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